Why We Fight
by Petey-Geebs
Summary: "Wow...reality's really falling apart...hell, I'm falling apart at this point" he droned, struggling to stand. He puffed hot breathes of mist into the chill around him. "Yet, for once, I have others to count on." His defiance enraged her. "You idiot, you fight for the crown! For ME! Now shut up and-" "No. I never fought for what was on your head. I fought for what was in my heart."
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, welcome and I am Petey. I do fiction-y things because reasons. I've had this story in development for a while, but have only resumed hammering out the finer details as of recently. All _you_ need to know is that I upload about once a month, here or elsewhere. I highly recommend checking out the other stories on my profile if you like this one. Although there's only one other right now. Thanks for listening, probably not understanding, and reading.**

 **Oh yeah, and the obligatory disclaimer.**

 **All characters, concepts, worlds, and content owned by existing companies/authors belongs to them; I own only the content I create and post here and elsewhere, and any resemblance to other real or fictional characters or ideas is merely coincidental. All submitted characters will have their creator's name stated in their debut chapter; I do not own characters of that status, but only have permission from their creators to add them to the story.**

* * *

~ **1** ~

Its beginning was shrouded in anger, its end in mist, and its existence in a sea of blood. This war had raged for millennium, the influence of both sides bleeding even into other dimensions to spread the war across all universes. Countless heroes had fallen to its terrible might. Knights, sorcerers, archers, gunmen… none of it mattered, for they were food now.

" **Heeeeeeyaaaaah-ha-ha-haaaaaah…. It's been a while since I've had a meal this big…more meat than the Garden of Eden though. Hehehe…"**

Through the darkness of the battlefield, he saw the evilly sparkling eyes of the beast gazing at him, knowing full well nothing stood between the two any longer. This was it. If only it could have been avoided.

"So…" he mused, slowly closing the distance between them, "it's come to this. Your brawn to my blade. Shall we end this, old friend?" The footfalls of the dark behemoth sent ripples rocking across the slimy purple muck below him as he crept.

Dark laughter met his words, violet light gleaming from within the monster's sharp-toothed mouth. **"Hardly friends. We're much closer. Hahaha-haaaaah."**

He grimaced, though it was true in a strange, cosmic way. His hand reached to his shoulder, enjoying the surge of power that coursed through him when he gripped at the blade on his back. The metal hissed as the sword emerged from its housing, the motion tossing his long white hair along his shoulders. The blade was impressive, to say the least.

A massive, razor-sharp tower of silvery metal dictated the hulking hilt on the blade. Right from the base, the blade spanned five inches across, a gold fuller linked to the cross guard reaching towards the massive blade's curving tip. The metal was engraved with many symbols, power swelling in each. Where the cross guard hit the grip there was a large red orb, ivory spikes being straddled by extended golden prongs on the guard. Set right beneath the jewel on the guard was the grip, rich white bandages wrapping it tightly. A pointed ruby red pommel ended the sword at its bottom.

" **Byahaha-aaaaaaaah! _That_ toothpick, **_**"Dejhir"**_ **?** **Puh-lease! Were they all out of** _ **real**_ **swords in "hero land?"**

The man sighed through his nose, knowing full-well these were hollow taunts. "This is as real as real can get. If you still doubt the team we make, then face us and know your error."

Still chucking softly, the monster came to rest before the warrior, gazing down at him. Bellowing a roar to shake the earth, he raised a heavy fist high above him, and brought it down with his full might.

Fiery power leapt from the warrior's blade, a giant burning fist forming to meet that of the beast. With the blow reflected away the man darted beneath the giant's stumbling pillars of legs, vaulting off of a bony toe and scaling the ribs with his sword. No matter the irked thrashing of the beast the fighter couldn't be shaken away, and soon he found the blade above his eyes.

"Besting you 'til you breathe your last is a task above any so far…I am no exception. The least I can do…" The knight lifted his blade skyward, thunder cracking in the distance, "is take your sight!"

Amidst the thrashing, the blade managed to find its way into the behemoth's left eye, ushering forth a terrible shriek. Mouth agape the beast heaved violet flames, both beings lost in a hellfire storm, and all matter of land for miles around followed.

* * *

Surfacing for what felt like the first time in ages, the young man greedily gasped the air around him. He gave a bassy grumble as he whipped his soaked golden hair away from his icy blue eye. Defeated, he watched the water bubble beside him.

One could see his features clearly while he swam, due to the clarity of the water in the spring. His skin seemed part of the pale tan sand of the pool, many harsh scars scrawled along his, well...everywhere. He was lean and toned, but not bulky - the body of a swimmer, almost. He was bereft of all body hair save for the golden stubble on his jawline and chin. His long yet regal face had many scars, as well, where there wasn't metal. His wavy mane of gold hair just kind of fell where it wanted, usually just hanging over his ears and making cloudy bangs.

However, there was a quality about him that was a bit standoffish. His arms and forelegs were clad in shiny metal, his toes and fingertips sharp, shimmering points. It was all jointed superbly, as mobile as real limbs. His left shoulder and up to his eye followed. His affected eye was sealed away with a ruby red pane of glass; in fact he admired how the color was similar to that of the big red Andesine gemstone embedded in the left shoulder's plates. He hadn't lost his limbs; it had become natural to assure people he still had them when they asked. In short, he needed the metal and that's all he'd say about it.

"… _mmmm-_ Bhwah!"

Rising beside him was a friend of his, a bit younger then he, with long, straight blue hair and deep ocean eyes. Her looks would seem odd if not for the strange genetics of her race. Her skin was also very pale, nearly white, but smooth and healthy all the same.

A scaly blue vest clung to her average bosom, leaving her midriff open. Hugging her ample hips was a knee length skirt of the same scaly nature, black tight shorts covering her thighs. Some simple black sandals kept her feet safe.

"Ee-hee! Lost again, Lance!" she chimed, her giggles bubbling out of her. Sure, he was bummed, but her laugh always put him in high spirits. A small grin hit him, him responding "Yeah, yeah, save it, Azei – you're training to take over Oceanus' place, after all. Your teacher's _made_ of water, so of course you'd wind up basically breathing it."

Her peeved expression put an even bigger grin on him. "Oh, don't whine, you baby. I'd say grow a pair, but gills would probably help more."

"Hah! If only I could. Woulda helped with naval training for sure." He quaked with sarcastic laughter, rising out of the sea and onto the sand. Giving his neck a few pops with a quick turn, he got his stuff from the shore. Palm glowing with light, his figure dried in seconds, and he redressed quick as a flash.

His thin armored feet were strapped into some heavy, steel plated boots with a pointed toe that reached up towards his knees. A pair of well-worn, loose brown trousers was seated on them, made of heavy denim and with deep pockets. On his body he wore a heavy crimson jacket that made his build a mystery, with a heavy trench-coat collar to boot. Tracing down the back of the coat was a mosaic of golden threads that converged onto a large ring etched between his shoulders. An upright golden triangle was centered in the circle. The sleeves of the coat had been virtually burned off to the shoulders, which left his steel arms out to shimmer in the sun. His pointed metallic fingertips glinted light as he fiddled with his belt.

Fussing a bit with his gear, he gave a wave behind him. "Maybe see ya' when I'm off work. Take care of yourself."

Her words gave him pause. "Don't forget, tomorrow old Gliver's passing on the throne. First time for ten thousand years that the monarch's changing, I hear. Will you be stationed there or are you free?"

"I'm free, but I have a feeling I'll be there keeping the peace anyway. I'm assuming I'll see you there. Looking forward to it." With that, he leapt into the palms surrounding the small cove, using them as springboards to travel in the canopy and beyond quite quickly.

* * *

A great tree spread its branches over much of the town's noble residential area, the light flitting through the sparkling leaves. These buildings were more ornate and large than those of the outer reaches of the city, sometimes distastefully so, yet were usually overshadowed by the glistening golden leaves on the tree limbs above.

The young man, having leapt his way through the miles of mythical forests bridging the beach to the city, was poised more than two hundred feet above a humongous castle. His metal claws held him to the pale yellow bark. The fortress was planted at the base of the tree's northward side, the spires at its corners just barely poking at the lowest branches.

Gaze focused at the back balcony, his claws slipped from the bark. The wind slicked back his hair, made his face tingle as it rushed past, and filled him with energy. As he dove toward the palace below, he mentally readied himself for his shift.

* * *

An ancient monarch sat on his throne, the guiding light of his kingdom. For ten thousand years he had ruled, which had been his dream since the kingdom itself was young. Growing up with one's kingdom sounds almost like a work of fiction, yet Gliver knew that should any such fable be told it would be inspired by events of his own life; after, all, he was one of many who had come before order itself, let alone folktales. But that in itself is a story for another time.

Even though he still donned the heavy, ivory armor of the Kings of Light, his bones were growing old. Far too old to stand up to the governing routine he had followed nearly his whole life. As he rested on his marble cathedra, his young, snowy haired daughter on her own chair beside his, a thud on the balcony shook the entire room. As he smirked at the sort of calling card he had enjoyed for the past several years, he noticed his daughter rolling her eyes. In a sort of fatherly way he found this amusing, his grin growing beneath his bulbous nose and bushy white beard.

"Ah, there you are! How was your time off, hmm?" came booming from the old giant on his throne. Lance lazily waved as he stood, the armored guards stationed on the balcony regaining composure after being jarred by the human meteoroid. "Enjoyed it, but I'm ready to get back to work. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Trotting into the room, he readied a jump into the rafters above, the ideal area to scope for potential threats. "Eh, actually, Lance, I'd like to show you something. Rather, I'd like Xynya to show you something."

As out-of-the-blue as the proposition seemed, he had an idea of what was going on, following the gleaming haired maiden into a room behind Gliver's massive throne. As the two tread a marble hall, she spoke. "As you know, there are a multitude of Divine Arms that deserving guards are granted for outstanding performance. Many are being used right now, but there are several remaining for your selection." Dryly, he spoke"Oh, so I'm getting one of _those_? This ain't just 'cause you dig me, right?" The princess found it in herself to grin. "Of course not. We don't give Arms away to just anyone, no matter if they're seductive or not." "Oh. Good to hear that I'm seductive. Thanks." "I didn't mean you, you idiot" she deadpanned. "Just pick the Arms you want. You can train later."

The hall opened up into a large, dome-shaped room, hooks lining the walls for what once was dozens of godly weapons of all kinds. However, there were only a few left scattered around the walls. Massive, shining clawed gloves, a long barreled musket with a wood grain finish and golden vines weaving around it, a silk-roped whip with a weighted spike at its end, a pair of dense, plated boots with sapphires inlaid in the ankles, a heavy looking metal viola with a bladed bow, and a large chain hammer.

"So," Lance began, eyeing up the weapons, "I just get to _choose_ any one of them?" Xynya had a cause for thought at that question. Turning to him she took his hands. "It's just whichever one feels best in your grip."

He took a breath, reviewing his selections, and gazed into her violet eyes. "M'kay...what if I don't want one?"

Knocking on the corridor wall interrupted their shenanigans. A lean, yet towering, golden armored knight peered down at them. "Advancements on the gates, your Highness. Sir Lancelot, your aid is also required." There was no more joking in the atmosphere. "Artorius, sound the alarms and relay instructions to the army. I want everyone stationed in phalanx, with healers in back and ranged between." Proper as it was this order left out someone important. "Forgetting anyone? You know, the guy you hired to give orders like that?"

Xynya began clearing her throat as Lancelot's remark. Turning to him, she addressed him "Ah, yes. Sir Lancelot, I want you to station yourself at the north gates. _After_ you select a Divine Arms." Hand floating from pocket to chin, the guard gazed around the room. "Fine. How about..." he mulled, staring at the instrument, then the musket. Hurriedly, however, Xynya clenched and thrust the hammer into his hand. "Now go."

Sighing, he clipped the hammer to his back and the three left for battle.

* * *

Rushing to the front window of the throne room, the two only saw what could be described as utter destruction. The outer walls of the city had been torn apart, hordes of malformed creatures pouring into the streets. Centaur-inspired skeletal men with massive crickets for legs, pulsating blackened hearts on the backs of speedy flesh hungry rats, airborne mages, cloaked in rags bloodied from propellers having been jammed into their backs, the list continued. It was a living nightmare.

However, the mutant army was dwarfed by the sea of demon soldiers, appearing human aside from curled horns jutting from their temples, pale gray skin, sharpened fangs, and violet lights burning in their angry eyes. Their ranks were of a dangerously versatile range of groups; powerful knights, alluring sorceresses, trigger-happy grenadiers, sturdy monks, dexterous assassins, and speedy healers.

And they weren't hesitant in the least.

They began ripping through the first responding golden knights, the divine wizards and archers only slowing their advance. No race had the advantage: human, angel, alien, beastman, lizard folk, not even Harpies could assault from the air. The city had gone from buildings to an ocean of undulating violet and gold, shoving at each other for supremacy.

"This…this is awful…" Xynya could barely contain her shock, gasping air through the cage her fingers had made over her mouth. "I…We have to evacuate those who remain, Lance. Artorius will lead the army. You go to the East Plaza. I'll take West." As she turned to leave, her wrist was gripped, tethering her. Gazing up, she found her father kneeling over her. " _I_ will take West. You get to the safe room" boomed the giant, drawing a colossal gladius from his hip, the sun themed cross guard gleaming with his ivory plate armor.

"Oh no, ya' don't."

Lance had spoken, his back to them and the mammoth chain hammer resting in his hands. "Xynya is taking the throne _tomorrow_ , Glive'. She can lead just as well as you. She takes West, you take East." He turned his head, calling out. "And I bust heads."

Before anyone could object, he vaulted from the tower. Crashing down onto his sturdy feet he dashed for the front lines, the hammer cocked at his right hip. Feet powerfully kicking against the ground, he arrived in mere moments. Muscles tensing, he swung the hammer upwards so hard he flew with it dozens of feet into the air, sailing above the sea of violet invaders.

"Heaven's Envoy, clear the area!" he wailed like thunder, the hammer's head glowing with light power as it hung from his shoulder, ready to be swung. Landing hard and fast, the massive mallet's head let loose an explosion of divine energy that blew a house-sized hole in the earth, and sent a parking lot's worth of dark soldiers flying. "Remember what you fight for, people of the Divine City! Not to protect just the monarchy, but the citizens as well!" he bellowed to the divine army.

Many found energy well in them through their struggles, making quicker work of foes than before. They wouldn't let the innocent fall victim to invasion.

* * *

It had been hours of fighting. How many was it? Most had lost count, but a sunset had replaced the afternoon sky.

Lancelot had been beating down foes left and right, taking serious damage as he gave it. Many javelins had skewered him, he had been left burned and battered, and cuts riddled him. ' _I have to just keep it together…man it's hard with all this pain…'_ Arms burning from exertion, and lungs raw from dust and use, he found himself on his knees. Pain consumed his whole body. _'I can't let it out. I need…to just do what I've been doi-'_

"Ah!...kgh..."

He was torn from his thoughts by a surge of terrible pain. He didn't want to look down…but he wasn't strong enough right now to say no. He found a spear of dark energy through his abdomen, dripping red.

His vision blurred by exhaustion and pain, he stared at his assaulter. She was a bit short, with a curvy body and horns that angularly spiraled back. Shining violet eyes were part of her flawless features, elegant black lips and pointed ears on her innocently round face. Hugging her body was a tight, black, one piece silken suit, her limbs guarded by bulky, black leather armor. A deep crimson cape whipped around behind her. His gaze fell again to his wound, vision going dark and hearing being clouded by a faint ring. He heard silence...it was a terrible feeling.

' _Got him.'_

It had been a long day of bloodshed, a lot caused by him. The demon's numbers were definitely thinner than they were in the afternoon. But it was over for him, her spear in his gut and his maul hammer dropped from his grip. ' _It's a shame he had to die. He really could fight. Kind of cute, too. But this place…'_ her spear coming out of his flesh with a satisfying snap as she thought, _'is rightfully ours.'_ The darkness used to make the pike fizzled out of existence as she turned her gaze to the palace. Their last place of refuge, about to be crushed by their forces, and no golden soldiers left to stop them. It almost made her smile….

 **"RRHAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!"**

A terrible wail redirected her attention. _'That was…chillingly powerful.'_ Scrutinizing my surroundings she readied another spear. _'Whatever made that sound is in for…a…fight…'_

"I... _did_ get him, right…?" she stammered, "No one could be standing after taking a spear to the gut." Yet, there he was. Wrapped in fire, and on his two feet. **"You will know my power...Even confined, I will not let death take my new body!"** he roared at her, a fiery ball of energy building from the gem on his shoulder. _'This is…bad.'_ It just continued to grow, his right hand grabbing it and hefting it above his head.

Fighting wasn't a good plan. Her dark spears burned up when they touched the flames spreading from him. Can magic even burn up? This wasn't the time to think. She screamed. "RUN, NOW!" Many nearby soldiers turned, then seemed to regret it, then ran for their lives. She would've done the same at this point.

" **End in fire!"**

He brought his hands apart, causing the huge swirling globe above his head to burst with volcanic power. Her vision was bathed in bright flames, and her skin stung with pain. This was the only feeling before blackness filled her vision.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just an update on this chapter. It was going to be up like a week and a half earlier, but my family and I had planned a road trip up to Canada. I have trouble writing in the car so it was quite some time until I could finish up this chapter and post. In regards to uploading as well, it will most likely be one or two chapters every two month period, depending on how school pans out. Thanks for understanding.**

* * *

 **'…W** _ **ake up 'little man'…. C'mon…rise n' shine…'**_

Her whispering voice was deep, silky, and sultry. Yet, the seductive tones instilled him with more fear than desire. At first, this siren song had been enjoyable enough, but it was quickly realized that this rose's thorns were large enough to harpoon whales.

The trick was keeping these harpoons from spearing all those around him.

'… _ **Lance…Lancey bab-yyyyy~…WAKE UP!'**_

"Uhwah!...Rrrrrkkh…my side is… _kill_ ing me…" he slurred to himself, feeling a lot of pressure in his lumbar. Hefting his neck up, he looked down. The area was forested, yet there was a huge gap in the trees caused by the trench he was at the end of. It was a bit difficult to tell due to the pit he was in, but he thought he could hear waves.

Pressing himself off of the black soil he climbed out of the ditch. Sucking air in through his nose he reached his arms toward the grey sky, feeling his spine pop just once before his wound sent a shock of pain through him. For ages he'd been a fast healer, the hole fairly sealed. It was still a damp, scabby chasm in his gut, though. In spite of having slept a day or so, judging by the sky, his joints were sore and his eye tired. He was still sharp enough to smell the charcoal in the air, though.

"Hm…is someone grilling? …Augh, dammit. Dejhir. Ugh, this is awful. Wonder what I did while I was under…" he grimaced, his fingers running over the gemstone in his shoulder. Scanning his surroundings, he wondered _'Now…where in the Holy Lands could I be? I don't recognize this forest…'_

Wondering through what he remembered, his mind returned to the moment he shared with the princess in the Divine Arms hall. "Oi! Where'd that hammer go?" he blurted, searching around the best he could from the small clearing he awoke in.

Rubbing his neck, he pondered a bit. Most likely, the reason he woke up at the end of a ditch in a burnt clearing was because he had been thrown in his fiery state. "I probably caused this trench. So, following it back is my first lead. …Whew…I hope they held out…"

* * *

He sat on his bed, legs crossed and an arm behind his head, running his tongue over his beastly teeth. A rubber ball bounced from the wall to his hand, then was thrown, and all repeated. Pausing to scratch at his stomach under the tight latex uniform, he found a word pop into his head. _'...Bored...so bored...'_ It was quite in Jump City today, so no crime fighting for him. Instead, he was waiting for his metal buddy to fix up his ride before they all went to investigate something Robin was interested in. And that Robin was Robin, the Boy Wonder. And, he was Beastboy, the...guy.

What kinda ground his gears is a call to action with no clear direction. The alarm hadn't gone off, (at least it hadn't gone off yet today) but Rob's radar picked up something come down to Earth and he wanted us to check it out. Could be fun, but if there's one thing an animal don't like, it's the unexpected. Stretching, he got up and strode out at Cyborg's call. "Yo, B! Car's ready!" Checking his green skin for zits in the mirror one last time, he lazed out and waltzed to the garage. The sorceress Raven was already in the car, Robin, too, and Cyborg at the wheel. Cheerily, the Tamaranean, Starfire, waited for him to take the middle seat. Oh, goody.

"So-ooo," he began, getting Cy's attention as he drove the car out, "where _exactly_ are we headed?" It really would take a load off to know. "Eh, just some coordinates set in the forests to Jump's southeast. Nothin' too special." _'Well, that was enlightening…'_ he mentally droned. Hopefully, this wouldn't be boring.

* * *

 _'Man, forests are boring.'_ All he saw was a lot of trees, the occasional rock or river, and that's really it. Some uneven terrain made it more interesting to hike through, though. Just as he was starting to slip into walking autopilot, his brain sent him an idea. "Hey, Rob, how 'bout a race? 1, 2, 3, Go!"

He took off like a bullet, racing over rocks and roots. Distantly, he heard Rob shout "As boring as the hike is, no thanks." "Aw, c'mon, dude!" Beastboy yelled back, staring back to give him a look. And suddenly he was falling.

"D'woh!" Going from a hard jog to gravity planting you in a ditch face-first really knocks the wind outta you. Spitting out some dirt, he heard everyone else stroll up to the edge of the ditch. "Way to look before you leap" Raven breathed in a monotone voice, cloak settling.

He was about to lay down a sick comeback, but Cyborg said something real interesting. "Well it ain't all bad. My new geological sonar is tellin' me this trench is gonna lead us right to our coordinates. This was probably caused by what fell from space." As they stared left and right, they saw it extend unnaturally straight in either direction.

 _'Hey, talk about lucky! This'll lead us right to it!'_ "Yeah! I totally found this shortcut. I'll take lead!" The smacking of palm on face was something he'd gotten used to.

* * *

"Aw'right, so you really got _no idea_ what we're up against?" Beastboy asked his leader, only getting "All I know is that it had not only a huge heat signature, but was too small and consistently sized on the radar to have been a meteor." He really didn't know why that made it _not_ a meteor, but he figured Robin knew more about space anyway.

The way along the ditch had been relatively clear, a few burned up tree stumps or bushes hanging into the valley, but then they came up to a huge oak tree that had had its roots torn away by whatever crashed. It had fallen across the ditch to block the way, branches draping down to obscure the path past it.

Hearing Cyborg's arm shift into a plasma saw, they all hung back. With a little effort, a section of the tree as wide as the path was cut out, him lifting it with ease out of the ditch. Now, they just figured they'd find more path behind its branches, but another person was strolling down the path toward them.

He had a head of golden hair that hung a bit over his cream colored face; or the right half was cream, because the left eye area was covered in metal. His free eye was icy, but the one in steel was completely red glass. Aside from the slight bag under his eye and the dirt smudges he had a noble face with high cheek bones and a pointed chin. A scratched up and dirt smudged crimson jacket hung on his shoulders, the sleeves gone entirely. His arms were clad in steel, one in his pocket and the other hanging at his side. Baggy brown trousers rumpled as he strode toward them, his steel boots with pointed toes making small dirt clouds.

 _'No way...he looks like he's straight out of Mortal Kombat! Awesome...and not boring, too...'_ Beastboy gawked, almost waiting for him to pull a Fatality on him. However, he just yelled a question from his place down the way.

"Hey there, do you mind telling me where I am? I'm sort of…lost, I guess…" he called out in a deep, respectful mid-west accent. The teen group shared some looks. A random guy in the forest was not what they'd expected to see. Robin spoke in a cautious way. "I'm assuming my answer isn't where you're going to have come from, right? Well, this is California…on planet Earth."

He blew a breath out slowly, looking around a bit. "No, this is _not_ where I hail from. I'm assuming _you_ aren't familiar with the Holy Lands, no?" He was pretty much right, and their expressions showed it. "No."

Starfire glided toward him with a bubbly demeanor. "So, new friend," she started, "where _do_ you hail from?" her cheery face moving close to his in curiosity. "Technically they aren't my homeland, but I come from the Divine Isles. Crazy to think I traveled that far…"

With his steel fingers scratching at the blond hairs on his jaw, he put on a wondering expression. His next question was even stranger. "Any of you see a big hammer on your way here?" Cyborg responded this time around with "How big we talkin'?" The guy thought a bit before answering "Well, the face is a foot wide if that says anything."

' _Wow, that's a crazy big hammer. And no, we ain't seen that'_ the android wondered. Without waiting for an answer, the stranger turned down another path to his right, a much thinner and less consistent one.

"Hey, if you came from that path down there, could you tell us what's there? We're looking for something and it would save time" Raven asked, the man stopping but not turning, fingers rubbing together on each hand. Finally he spoke, almost hesitantly, "Nothing but trees...and me" he mumbled as his hands dipped into his pockets.

Again, the group shared a look. Above everything, Beastboy was _not_ letting this awesomely-dressed stranger get away. "Hold up, dude!" he squealed after him, running to his side as he walked. "So…who are you and what _are_ these "Divine Isles?" he questioned, playing it cool with his hands behind his head. It was safe to say it wasn't working.

There was this thinking expression on the man's face. It made the changeling's stomach turn in anticipation. "It's – and I have a feeling you'll like this answer – sort of like "Super Heaven." _All_ the gods and goddesses that have ever existed living in one land." He was absolutely right. Beastboy was super into it.

"I can die happy knowing that a place as awesome as somewhere that can be called "Super Heaven" exists." The rest of the team had started following him, also interested in this information. "Now for question 2. I'm a…guard, I suppose, in this "Super Heaven." The throne and its denizen are my responsibility. And the reason I'm here, to preemptively answer another question, is...because I failed."

This guy was getting cooler and cooler to the green teen. "Dude, how badass does it sound to have been kicked out of "Super Heaven?" Sure, his team gave him a look of "Really…?", but this stranger was chuckling away. However, it was then followed by a face of sorrow. "I wasn't kicked out, at least not by the law." he started, his metal claws stroking his jaw hairs, "The Holy Lands were overrun by a demonic army, and we guards along with our own army couldn't defend against it. I was thrown out because they won."

Everything up until "Heaven now belongs to Satan" sounded pretty cool. With that info in place, Robin interjected. "Normally I'd have a breathalyzer out by now, but you seem to dress the part so I buy it."

Their feet crunched the dirt for a few more seconds. "Speaking of dressing the part," this "Holy Guard" began, looking us up and down, "why are you all dressed as you are? Superheroes, perhaps?" "Wow, hit the nail on the head" Cyborg muttered, impressed.

"Yeah, I could tell from all the spandex" he said as they came to the end of the path. A soil mound led up to the grassy ground above the path, the bottom of a shiny red pole poking out of the dirt. "Ah, here's my hammer."

Instead of waiting to get the several feet of dirt off of it, he easily tore it straight out in the blink of an eye. There was an explosion of dirt nearly twenty feet up, him holding the hammer above his head like it was light as paper. The maul hammer proved interesting to the team behind him, namely Raven. She was versed in many religions and the occult, and she felt an unbelievably powerful aura of light blazing from the weapon. "That hammer..." she whispered to herself, "...that was made by gods..."

The four foot shaft gleamed in the sun, at its bottom a thicker dimpled grip a foot long, at the top a huge iron ring holding tons of steel mesh cable layered several inches out. Resting against the ring was the head, an epic dual weapon. One end was a cylindrical white hammerhead maybe half a foot thick and a foot across on its face. On it was a design of a silver cross with feathery wings. The other end, attached to a rectangular divider between it and the hammer, was a wicked red scythe blade. The thick blade curved back for more than two feet to end at a sharp tip. A jet black strip of metal covered the top and reached down to stop halfway to the blade's tip.

He twirled the huge hammer like it was only a pencil, letting it drop to his side. However, only Beastboy heard him grunt, almost silently, with his animalistic hearing. The guard's hand was pressuring his side.

"So...I'll be off." Beastboy could feel his ears droop. _'_ _Guess this awesome heaven dude was too cool to be true.'_ With those words he hopped straight up into the trees around the path, which had their branches a good thirty feet up. Something hitched in the beastly teen's throat, and he yelled "H-hold up!"

Turning from his place on a thick branch a far distance away, he gave a look that seemed to ask "Uh-huh…?" Great, now he had to come up with a reason why he shouted. Way to go, Beastboy.

"You said that this place where all the gods and goddesses _ever_ lived was overrun by demons or something, right? It sounds like a big problem to fix, and a really important one, too. Sure, you seem tough, but to take on an army big enough to take Heaven itself _by yourself_ sounds pretty nasty. Especially considering you're injured."

He stole a glance at his stomach, seeing that the blood had started to dye the belt loops below it crimson.

"I don't think we're doing anything as important as that, so…maybe we could help ya?"

He regretted nothing and everything for asking that. Sure, he looked like he was considering it, but his pal's eyes were drilling into the back of my skull. The atmosphere was pretty heavy. "...No."

 _'Yeah! He's...wait, what? Whaddya mean 'No'?! You're one injured dude against Hell itself!' he_ raged , but then got to thinking... There's gotta be a reason he doesn't want help. "If you're worried, don't be. We can handle ourselves, dude."

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so eager to get involved with me...and the heavens." He was staring up into the sky as he said this, his voice a dull drone. Almost afraid he hadn't said enough, he coughed out "DPF Policy...stuff."

In an instant, Starfire had made her way up to him, floating there with this concerned expression. "...If you do not desire our help, at least return to our home with us. Your injuries must heal before such an undertaking." They were surprised she didn't start asking him his favorite color. Mulling over it, he seemed to be formulating a response.

"If...I wouldn't be a burden, and you're willing...sure."

Leaping down from his treetop perch the guard landed before the now reformed group, listening to them debate in heated whispers from a distance. "Listen, guys," quietly hissed Cyborg, "I know he's talkin' this thing up, but how are we even sure this place _exists_? Plus, we don't even know his name!"

"Lance."

Glancing at him, the crew of heroes raised a collective brow. "My name is Lance. Lancelot Jarvis Sevris. _And_ I can show you the Divine Capital if I can manage a gateway back."

It was fair to say Raven was the most skeptical of the lot, putting herself a foot from him and giving him a cold gaze. "If this place doesn't exist," she whispered in a bit of her signature rasp, "you have some explaining to do. Especially about that hammer."

"I won't be "explaining" anytime soon, then" he retorted, bowing his face closer to hers. Raven could feel the fury boil to her face, her cheeks reddened and her eyes slits.

Suddenly the hammer-man lightened up. "Hey, don't be hard on yourself. If I _hadn't_ met Death, you'd be scary." He turned to the team, a question rising in his throat. "So, is it okay with the rest of you if I stay for a bit? At least for tonight."

Well, this was a predicament. Robin found himself immediately flanked by a dewy-eyed Starfire and Beastboy, their hands clasped together in a pleading way. The chirping of birds even seemed to weigh on his conscience. "Okay, but only on the condition that you prove your intentions by tomorrow."

He and Lance, approaching one another, reached their hands out and gave a firm handshake. "Alright, Titans," Robin called out, pacing back in the previous direction, "back to base."

* * *

Gently the engine purred as the crew made its drive back to base. The green cat on Starfire's lap purred in sync with the motor as all the rest made small talk. "So, Lance, they got cars like this in the…Divine Isles?" Cyborg questioned, shooting the heavenly brawler a glance in the rear-view mirror. He was given a lethargic nod. Lance's eyelids drooped the longer he sat in the car. The sunlight was incubating his tired body as it flooded in from the window, dragging him towards sleep.

Our of the blue he felt something firmly nudge his leg, jarring him a little bit more awake. Gazing down, he found a grey skinned knee, his eyes tracing the curves up to a black gymnastics leotard, then to a pair of violet eyes shadowed by a blue hood. "Better not fall asleep. We aren't carrying you into the house."

Not feeling any words in his throat he nodded, resting his neck on the leather headrest. However, he then heard a much softer tone. "This fight for Heaven must have been difficult. I'm getting tired just looking at you" she hummed.

It made his wounds sting to remember the heated affair. Breathing deeply, he droned "I don't know how long it was…that we fought. We began before noon and the sun was setting the last I can recall. My hands practically bled from swinging that hammer nonstop for that long, crushing and slashing horrors one can only imagine. Some bit at your ankles while some tried to step on you. All the while, and here's something new about me," he digressed, sitting straighter.

"I'm diverting huge amounts of focus and power to suppress some demon inside me." He allowed that to sink in before continuing, "And then it ends with a stab to the gut by a demon chick who, if I remember right, was making spears out of magic. She caused the injury your green pal mentioned."

He breathed deeply once more, the atmosphere silent. "And then what most likely happened is my demon overwhelmed me and somehow I was knocked down into the Mortal Realms, of which yours is one. Just fate that I landed here, I suppose."

Silence. Some thumbs were twiddled. Some throats cleared. "What…are the Mortal Realms? Gimme an example, man." Well, this one was a stretch…"Uuuuuh, Spongebob."

Giggles and snorts abounded. "Like, that old kid's show?" Robin inquired from the front, a grin plastered on his face. Lance contemplated a bit, responding "Not…necessarily, I'd say? You see, all Mortal Realms can sort of bleed into others, and certain likenesses or even events can be viewed from different universes. However, it's all circumstantial with how it appears. In Spongebob's case, the likeness that bled into your dimension was strong, leading to a large view into his universe, and he just happened to show up as a cartoon as opposed to other 'strong likeness media', like a series of novels. For reference, weak likeness media are things like still pictures. I'm sure you guys are some cartoon somewhere else, too."

More silence. Man, this guy had a lot of weird tales to tell. However, only time would tell if his words held true. "Once I see this "Divine Capital", I'll believe you" quietly rasped Raven, rolling her eyes at him. "If I can make a gate," he began, "you'll see all you need to see."

* * *

"What a view…" Lance slurred in fatigue, drinking in the moonlit seascape he had outside his room's window. He gazed around more. "Nice furniture, smells clean, they live on a freaking island…they must be funded to protect the nearby city."

That thought had been sneaking through his head as he had been led to a room with cream colored sheets and carpets and shining mahogany dressers. He set his hammer in the closet in the corner to the window's left, the hinge clicking closed as he flopped onto the bed. Sore from the battles of yesterday he shed his jacket, stretching his limbs as he lay with eyes closed.

 _*Bang-Bang*_

"Come in." The metal door hissed apart. He heard someone step in, a cape faintly whispering. "So, uh…welcome to the tower…Lance" he heard Raven quietly call. He opened his eyes, but didn't avert them from the ceiling. "Thank you. I promise, I'll be gone the second I can make a portal back" he mumbled, putting his arms behind his head. It was quiet for a few moments, and he could almost feel her eyes on him. On his body, scanning. Mischief filling his head, he cooed "Checking me out, are you?" The feeling of eyes on his skin immediately faded. "That's…" she trailed off for a moment, "a pretty bad looking wound, is all. You sure you don't want something for it?"

Gaze shifting to the injury in question, he sat up; he had never actually checked to see how bad it may be. Sure, he was blanketed with scratches and burns, but many had faded a fair deal. However, a wide and deep, almost funnel shaped, gash had been made just above his right hip, and the edges had since scabbed over. Within the wound it was still a damp crimson, but the flow had been staunched with time. _'I suppose I'm lucky it was far enough to the right that it missed anything important…but damn it's deep…'_

"I'll be fine. I have bandages in my jacket." A breath escaping him, he turned his eyes to hers but found her avert her own. "Well…good night" she muttered, her blue cloak the only part of her he could see as she crept out.

Alone again, bathed in silence. His eyes grew heavy, the memories of the day before soon becoming visions behind his eyelids.

' _They'll pay.'_


	3. Chapter 3

**How are you readers enjoying the story thus far? It may be during the school year that I next upload, so the barely constructed schedule I've sorta kept with this may waver a fair bit. Don't worry, I haven't given up on this but depending on my work load it may be longer between uploads. Just check in every once in a while, m'kay?**

 **Uploads may begin to become** _ **very**_ **inconsistent as I experiment with more stories. If you're ever curious, you can find them on my profile once I upload them.**

* * *

A dense forest of silhouettes darkened the world around him. All had piercing violet eyes that stared through him, staring at his weakness. "I'll cut _all_ of you down!" He swung through one, it evaporating into a smoky cloud. Then another. And one more. More, and more, and more. Soon a veritable fog had developed, so thick he lost sight of his own hands.

"Just…leave!"

He swung again…again…it felt good…he needed more. **"Just…die! You worms don't deserve to…even** _ **breathe**_ **around me!"**

A fiery glow dyed the fog red, encouraging blow after blow on those against him. He hit a black being. Another one. Another. Then a grey skinned one caught his eye.

Her eyes were not consumed by a purple light, but instead were graced with crystalline red irises. She had a sleek bob haircut and black horns that spiraled backward. Her velvety black lips parted.

" _Lance…"_

" **Die…all of you die!"** he roared at her, fist wheeling back to prepare a strike.

" _Lance…"_

" **Die!"**

Fist balled so tight his fingers burned, he jabbed at her in rage. **"Ju-uuuuuuust…DIE!"** The ground shook as he struck the wall beside her face. **"Die…you don't dese** rve **…** to live…" Anger fizzling out he sunk to his knees, hugging his shoulders, feeling tears streak down his cheeks. '…I don't deserve…"

He was spent, only able to kneel and shiver. What he never expected was the satiny touch of delicate fingers on his neck. _"Don't worry…"_ he heard her gently whisper, feeling her thumbs raise his chin so his gaze met hers. _"…you're safe…"_

Eyes drifting from his lips to his eyes she moved in, him doing the same to her. Words jumbled around in his head, but he could speak none. "What…" A sudden shot of pain rocked the wound at his hip, tearing him from his dream.

…

Morning air pooling in his lungs, his eyes just barely cracked open. It seemed that at her touch, his old wound began to ache. Irked, he gazed down at it. It was old, but still sore. "Oh…son of a…" he breathed, rubbing his face free of sleep. Feeling cool air on his skin, he turned to look out at the shoreline kissing the city.

He felt his eyes weighed by residual exhaustion. He took and breath and rubbed the tiredness away.

The world began to melt.

* * *

The whites and beiges in the room fizzled into and out of shadows.

 **~~~G~U~I~L~T~Y~~~** They were looking at him. At what he had done. **~~~G~U~I~L~T~Y~~~**

 **~~~Y~~~O~~~U~~~~~D~~~I~~~D~~~~~I~~~T~~** Judging. **~~Y~~~O~~~U~~~~~D~~~I~~~D~~~~~I~~~T~~~**

 **~~~I~T~S~~~F~U~N~N~Y~~~W~H~E~N~~~Y~O~U~~~C~R~Y~~** Laughing. ~ **~I~T~S~~~F~U~N~N~Y~~~W~H~E~N~~~Y~O~U~~~C~R~Y~~~**

 **~~~Y~~~O~~~U~~~~~M~~~O~~~N~~~S~~~T~~~E~~~R~~~** Who? **~~~Y~~~O~~~U~~~~~M~~~O~~~N~~~S~~~T~~~E~~~R~~~**

 **~~~Y~O~U~~~S~H~O~U~L~D~~~B~E~~~D~E~A~D~~~** By whom? **~~~Y~O~U~~~S~H~O~U~L~D~~~B~E~~~D~E~A~D~~~**

 **~~~Y~~O~~U~~~~~D~~E~~S~~E~~R~~V~~E~~~~~I~~T~~~** Why? **~~~Y~~O~~U~~~~~D~~E~~S~~E~~R~~V~~E~~~~~I~~T~~~**

 **~~~Y~O~U~R~E~~~W~O~R~T~H~L~E~S~S~~~** They don't like him. **~~~Y~O~U~R~E~~~W~O~R~T~H~L~E~S~S~~~**

 _ **~~~ . . . ~~~ . . . ~~~ . . . ~~~** He_ doesn't like him. **~~~ . . . ~~~ . . . ~~~ . . . ~~~**

 **~~~ . . . ~~~** He's better off dead. **~~~ . . . ~~~**

* * *

His head was spinning. He gasped air as if choking. He rubbed his eyes again. He breathed away the shaking in his hands. He was okay. "I'm...fine..." Curled up at the foot of his bed, he buried his face in his steel palms. "...I'm fine."

As he sat on the edge of the bed, he dug out the roll of bandages from his jacket's pocket, beginning to cover the more serious wound. Meanwhile, he found himself assessing his circumstances. _'So, how am I going to go about this portal? I don't doubt I could open it with my Holy Seal, but…if the Holy Lands_ have _been lost I'm sure the new residents wouldn't want me there.'_ Bandage snapping, he tied it off at his hip. "Oohhh…and I'd rather not bring these people into this, even if they agreed to see it" he drawled, rubbing his eyes as he stood. Jacket on and hammer in hand, he exited to the hallway.

Checking out the hammer was something he hadn't done yet, even though he'd fought an army with it. Hands gliding along the grip, he found a hinge in the center, which he could use to bend the shaft to two feet as opposed to four. "A welcome change" he mumbled, hanging the shortened cudgel on his hip.

Few other thoughts crossed his mind as he approached the main room, mainly just worries for his friends…but he knew there would be no benefit in sorrow, and so abandoned those thoughts. As he trod into the room he noticed the cybernetic man and the "energetic string bean" going at a videogame. The stringy one was losing.

"Uwah! C'mon, Cy, gimme a break!" "Hah-ha-hah, ain't happenin' B." Lance sank onto the couch a fair distance from the duo (which wasn't hard because the couch was a giant horseshoe shape at the front of the room), yet it seemed his presence was felt. Beastboy began getting a lead in the race.

"Oh, dude, just in time to see me beat Cy! Hehehe!" Cyborg grumpily locked his jaw in response. There was a question brewing in the guard's mind. "Hey, do you always…" he trailed off, eyes going from screen to teens, "play games around here? Being heroes I'd expect…training?"

"Uh…." Cyborg mumbled, the controller suddenly feeling uncomfortably heavy in his hands. Beastboy shifted as he sat, squeaking "If you're looking for training, uh…we have a couple rooms…" He juggled the answer around in his mind. _'Hmm…the situation in the Holy Lands is dire, but…there's no guarantee that if I go I'll be able to…do anything. I may as well peruse this world for a bit.'_ "Mm. Which hall?"

…

He heard the scuffles and clangs of boots and blades as he rounded the hall. The scent of sweat, the faintly dusty air, all had the markings of combat…but his nose told him it was missing something. His gaze turned to the changeling guiding him there. "So, who's here now? Your "Grand Leader?"

This remark took Beastboy off guard, making him retort "H-he's not that kinda guy, honest! Sorry if it seems that way. He's a cool dude, even if he's a stick in the mud sometimes." He knew the feeling. "Mhm, I've met plenty like that…Xynya was the…same." Casting a wary glance on him, the changeling saw his downcast eyes blazing with a stew of sadness and hate. His own mouth opened and closed several times, a jumble of questions in his throat. _'No…he seems real bummed out.'_

"You wanna know who she was?"

The shifter's breath hitched behind his sharp teeth. "Do you…like, are you sure?" he chittered, voice as frail as ice. He tried scanning the other's eyes for an answer, but his emotions were deeper inside than were able to be perceived.

"She was the…current…emperor, Gliver's, daughter. I met her a long time ago…. Would you have guessed I've been a holy guard for nearly twelve years?" Pausing to let that hang, he continued. "I was assigned to guard the king, and got to know his daughter as well as him." Airily chuckling, he finished "Never would have thought she was a run-around. I made sure we stayed friends, though, and I was…someone she could…absolutely…trust."

The two walked in silence, Lance's eyes glazed over with remembrance. So many things the green teen wanted to ask…and none that wouldn't instill the other with bittersweet nostalgia. While Beastboy knew of the guard's importance, his life wasn't something he wanted to just begin asking about. He'd met many heroes, and there as a trend: the greater the hero, the darker the past. If this guy was _really_ powerful enough to take down an army that could wage a war on heaven…his life probably sucked. He didn't need to remember right now.

"The facility's right around this corner if you wanna blow off steam." "I'm…not sure about that." B blinked a few times. "Why?" His concern unacknowledged, they finally arrived at the vast open room where the heroes honed their skills. Normally the walls were of cold hard steel, but there were some holographic shenanigans going on with cityscapes and such, and the two ladies were training power synergies. Robin sat high in his perch, poised over the control panel. Seeing these two in action always made his skin tingle. Granted all of them could pool their skills and work in conjunction, but something was special about the way their energies mingled. Dark magic twisting around crackling emerald energy; destructive poetry in motion.

Though it was more dramatic on the battlefield, their combined power could take down anything. Especially the robots used for training. The two would switch off on who began a slew of attacks and who followed up; if Starfire began with her heavy melee blows Raven may come in with some matter of dark telekinesis, and had Raven began with dark rays the other would continue with her own beams, the two twining together to turn the mechas into scrap.

Several robot swarms had gone down to a dual power cyclone that whipped around the arena. Enough messing around. Time to send in K08. He grabbed for the mic on the control board. "You two are doing well. I'm sending in K08. He's calibrated to adapt to your attacks. Try and take him down."

There was a heat in their eyes, that readiness for battle. "Starfire, are you ready? Cyborg's been working in this for a while. He said it was very tough." "I am sure we can handle it." At Robin's command the wall at the far end of the room split, the panels hissing as they moved back. "So, Boy Wonder, what are you working on?" He'd only heard one set of daffy footfalls, so Lance's deep tones made him jump. Turning to the surprise guard and the changeling he'd known was beside him, he proudly boasted "K08 is the culmination of state of the art materials and the latest in military training A.I.. I think he'd even give you a fair run for your money." Lance blew air through his nose in response. "I'd beg to differ."

Breeze blowing from the shadowy opening, a single fiery violet light pierced the darkness. **"I AM K08. MY SOLE PURPOSE IS…TO ELIMINATE OR BE ELIMINATED. YOUR PERFORMANCE DECIDES YOUR FATE."**

This…isn't good…or programmed. "I…what did Cyborg do? This was never the plan…" Over Lance's chuckles he heard Beastboy squeak "Aw yeah! Robot fight!" "So, still think he's all that, Mr. "State of the Art"?" Peeved, Robin set to withdrawing the robot. With some keystrokes the walls shifted back into place, sealing the…well, now prototype, away. At his action the holographs faded and the familiar steel of the room returned. Their expectations shot down, the two women gazed at each other. "So, uh..." the sorceress began, "are we done?" Starfire thought otherwise, gliding up to the control room window. Seeing those inside, she called "Robin, are not you going to release him?"

Leaving the control desk, he announced on the intercom "No, something went wrong. I'm coming down to check his settings." He shook his head as he strode to the door. "Ou-Augh!" Blowing the leader back, the door sparked with thunderbolts. Those with him dropped their clownish guise, Beastboy checking for injuries and Lance inspecting the door. Amid the shock and confusion a muffled mechanical bass shouted. "FIGHT…OR **DIE."** Halfway through the sound of a wall tearing entered, the crumbled metal clearing a path for the sound.

The hovering alien's voice tried to penetrate the room. "Robin! Are you okay?!" Rushing for the table, Lance tried to pick up the corded mic on the control panel. He heard the crackling of static not a moment before he grabbed it, though. More electricity. And it was a dull, dark blue. The glass to the training room was the only way out…or would be. If Robin hadn't installed carbon fiber panes. Said fighter made it back to his feet. Coughing, he asked "What...was that?" as he peered out the window with the other two.

On the far right side of the room were scraps and sheets of warped metal, the wall now just a deep dark hole. The large violet light hovered in the gloom, two curved, car-length, thin samurai blades reaching out from the darkness. Crossing, slashing apart, and one pointing toward the two women in the distance, the bot bellowed **"YOU MUST DIE!"**

A dusk blue flame lit up further down in the darkness, carving out the faint outline of the mech. From a small opening in the bottom the gloomy flames poured, the same lights peeking out of a lattice of openings in the hull. This crisscross stopped at the widest point, two yard upwards, where a round shell held the shoulder and neck joints. Some of the midnight blue fire was leaking out of small holes in the ball joints, trailing down to form a leash of bluish-white fire encircling its wrists. A deep, curved blade could faintly been seen vertically mounted atop its head, which consisted of only an orb of steel with a glowing violet eye. The piercing white pupil was fixated on the two before him.

"Rob, we gotta get down there!" the changeling belted, fixing his eyes on the window before morphing into a rhino. Huffing, it rushed the glass. It failed dramatically, dark static blowing the beast back into the rear wall. As if the fiberglass wasn't strong enough, now magic was toughening it. Changing back, he groaned "Aw, dude...not cool..." Heavenly power wrapped Lance's hands as he investigated the window. "This is the least fortified area. Maybe I can get the glass off, but whatever magic is stopping us is strong. Give me a minute." As he charged light in his palm, flames sputtered from the bottom of the mech's spine. It lurched forward at incredible speed for a robot so large, his twin blades jousting toward Raven.

Robin heard a muffled clang of metal as he clenched his eyes shut.

Raven! Her barrier…No, her barrier had been broken. It's Starfire, the mech's wrists braced against her hands. Her arms subtly shook as she fought with the mech. She can't hold out, despite her strength; one of the robot's arms wound back to strike, the fact that the remaining arm was still giving her a run for her money sealing that deal. In a flash of blades, the scene changed.

"She…he…When did he get here?" Beastboy stammered. Holding the blades at bay was instead Lance, pushing against the arms with the shaft of his hammer. Starfire lay on the floor beside Raven, a long cut down her arm. Despite the robot's sheer size, he was holding it back. Ushering his comrade to follow, Robin dropped from the open window into the training room. Of course, Beastboy splatted on the floor not a moment after. Ever aware, Robin started piecing it together. That thing showed up and they couldn't get out of that room, then it wouldn't abort. The nail in the coffin is Cyborg had told him it wasn't ready before he went to sleep last night. He _never_ wakes up to work, so… _'Who made that robot?'_

Rushing toward Lance, the Boy Wonder roared "Everyone get back! It's gone rogue!" Raven and Starfire, busy regaining composure, made a retreat to the door. Twisting back over her shoulder she rained down plasma bolts on the robot. Granted it was hard to see through the smoke, he could see some instability in the mech's flight as it and the brawler forced their weapons against each other.

" **SCANNING…SCANNING…IDENTITY CONFIRMED. LANCE JARVIS SEVRIS III. 19** **TH** **HOLY GENERAL OF THE 7** **TH** **MONARCHY OF THE HOLY ISLES. YOU HAVE MADE YOURSELF AN ENEMY OF THE SHADOW ISLES. YOU MUST BE TERMINATED."**

"He's what?!" the bystanders exclaimed in unison. If the Shadow Isles are what they think they are, then this could be a lot bigger than expected. Robin reached for the staff on his belt, kicking the ground hard as I rushed at the robot. "Clear the area!" Seeing what he had in mind, Lance took his hammer by the very end of the shaft, wedging the head against the flats of the blades as they pressed against the handle. "I got a better idea" he huffed.

Swinging hard, the robot's arms collapsed inwards, the mech flying to the other end of the room. Recovering at the door, Raven thought _'He used his hammer as a catapult…Not only strong, but smart. I'm thankful he's not against us.'_ Robin almost stopped running towards him, as he seemed to have it covered. "Hop on!" Poised and ready, the hammer man had his maul slung over his shoulder, with its face upwards. Sprinting toward him, Robin leapt onto the hammer head. They exchanged banter as he prepared himself for the apparent. "You ready to fly?" "If you are." "Then...go!" Lance swung forward, following through to the floor as if throwing a football. Wind hissed past his human bullet as it flew. Robin, prepared, angled his feet forward and his bo staff toward the machine. It had barely recovered from the impact, its glowing eye the only light in the dark part of the room. That's where he would strike

Impact rocking his bones, the lens shattered.

Coughing, Robin dropped off of the pinned mech, glass at his feet and stars in his eyes. Gazing up at the husk that remained of the robot, he shuddered at the thought of its creator. Cyborg would recycle the heap of metal. Turning to his comrades, he surveyed them as they stood at the far end of the room; their faces were distant, yet he could see their surprise. Hammer over his shoulder, Lance strolled up to him "Sorry if I threw you too hard. Just wanted to take care of that thing, is all." He can understand that…but still, his ankles hurt like hell. "We'll have to work on the speed, but I'd give that throw a 10" he chuckled, trying to grin away the pain. Reaching into his pocket for my receiver, he planned to dial Cyborg. * _Kssht* "_ Cyborg, the robot is-" Suddenly shaken, he gazed up. There was alarm in Lance's eyes. "Get back!"

His hammer hooked around Robin's waist to throw him like he had the robot, aimed toward the front of the room and away from some danger. He crashed into Starfire's arms. Rolling off of her, the two sat their in dizziness. "Whoa...dude..." Beastboy mumbled as he stared.

What.

Is.

That.

A huge, glowing, sparking studded steel ball was embedded in the floor before the divine guard, a long link of thick chains spanning the distance to the dark hole in the wall. The chain twitched and jumped with electricity, being swallowed by the darkness as it neared the supposed husk of the robot. Darkness seemed to bleed outwards from the hole…or maybe it was crawling chains. The links lurched once before the massive metal ball hurtled back to the hole and audibly smacked against what sounded like a palm; the orb was held nearly ten feet off the ground.

Something yawned, the glowing violet eye and two small yellow lights shifting in the blackness. **"** _ **Nnnn-hah!**_ **Heehee! Good to be out of that icky shell! Maybe** _ **now**_ **I can kill you!"** Its voice was so…girly? It sounded high and frilly…like if cotton candy could talk.

It was so sweet it was toxic.

Long and slender, a leg emerged from the darkness. It was clad in form-fitting metal for as far as its owner showed. The steel stiletto heel supported the graceful curves of the segmented metal armor all the way up to the thigh, where darkness remained.

" **So? C'mon, big guy! Show me how you swing that** _ **huge hammer**_ **of yours!"**

Cyborg, having just walked in in alarm, was now just dumbly staring at the feminine metal leg at the other end of the room. Eyes assaulted him from every direction as he stood their drowning in his own sweat. "I swear I didn't build it!" he huffed out, his face red as a tomato. "Believe us, Cy…we know" Raven mumbled. This was getting weird. Everyone just sort of…gazed around at each other. "Star," Robin whispered, helping her up, "we should get everyone out of here – this looks like Lance's fight." A passion raged in her eyes, and she asserted "But Robin, it is our duty to help the people, and Lance is one of those. We cannot simply leave." She was…right, in a sense, but there's little they could do against a giant from Hell…. "I understand, but…at least let me study her patterns while Lance fights."

Lance, in the distance, twirled his hammer like a baton, drawing circles in the air. "Really, Trying to suck me into some awful word play? I thought you'd be better than that." At his notion, two chains could be heard whizzing around. Every so often a huge violet cannonball would dip out of the darkness before returning. **"Heehee! Aw, c'mon, Lancey-Pantsy! How 'bout I show you what I got first, huh? They're big n' round! Perfect…to squish you with!"**

The goofy atmosphere was shred apart when two tank-y metal gloves were flung forth from the darkness, twin ball and chains flying toward Lance. They came curving around on either side, ready to pass over one another whilst crushing their adversary to pulp between. Riddled with anticipation, he felt his muscles tense and time slow down. Jerking his heel up to the back of his head, he swung his foot back down and leapt into the air. Twisting his way through the almost nonexistent gap between the twin cannonballs, he slammed his left foot back onto the floor.

Lance's demeanor was inhumanly calm…. Gawking at the move, Cyborg wondered _'Is he...he can't be human, right?'_ "Well, you certainly move quickly. I don't even know your name and you're throwing _these_ at me? In that case…." Still having just landed, he used the momentum from the twist and swung his right foot around for a roundhouse kick. As he did… " _Yah!_ " A crescent of crackling blue lightning flew in the giant's direction. As the metal balls circled back around, she caught them in the opposite hands, the chains crossing. The arc of lightning hit the chains and dispersed, their owner unfazed.

Metal clinked as a hinge come loose, Lance now whipping the head of his hammer from a long chain in blinding fast yet graceful sweeps. "Into chains, huh? That's makes two of us." With that he took off sprinting. Expertly skipping through and over the whirling chain he was whipping about, he dug his feet into the ground and swung it hard at her from before her feet.

Her chains jerked, circling around the head of the hammer and holding it firmly in place. **"Bye bye!** _ **Eeh-hee!**_ **"** She used the chains to twist the weapon from his hands, and forcefully kicked him away in his imbalance. Haphazardly bouncing along the floor caused several deep scrapes to open on his face and hands, and a few tears to appear on his clothes. Careening toward the group at the front of the room, Cyborg caught him. However, the guard was heavier than he'd imagined, and the two slid into the rest. His hammer was unceremoniously thrown after him.

Beastboy was now left in the center of the room, his small frame seeming even smaller under the gaze of the giant. **"Hmm...hey there, cutie..."** The dulcet tones of a predator. Called on, the changeling froze up. Eyes dead with fear, he stood there nearly swimming in sweat in spite of his white-hot face.

Recovering to a stand, Cyborg reached around to help everyone else up. Lance then busied himself inspecting the tears in his coat. "Wow, she's volatile...disabled the spell on my coat. I know you don't wanna help out, Rob, but I'd appreciate it." Said leader set to waving his hands around in disagreement. "Oh, no, not at all! Feel free to ask us anytime, ha-ha-ha..." _'How did he hear me say that earlier? He was thirty feet away!'_ ran through his mind, a dejected puss on his face. "Okay. Titans! Let's cut this giant down to size!" **"Heh…ha-ha-ha! I have a name, you know! And a title to match, silly!"**

With that, she stepped forth from the darkness.

Again…

What.

Is.

That.

He sized her up from what he'd seen first. The stiletto heels and metal clad legs seemed to be wrapped in overlapping ribbons of steel from toe all the way up to her ribs, where the shell ended in two small wing-shaped protrusions from her waist. A metal ring sat around her neck, linking the front and back of her breastplate; it was a single, angular piece that hung from her bust over the beginning of her ribs. Dusk blue designs of eyes reached down from the neck. The glowing violet eye of the robot was instead a large spot that governed her abdominal region, more dark blue etchings spidering out on the armor. Her violet skin was apparent from her shoulders to the bulky mitts of steel on her hands. It was hard to make out her face; she wore an expansive hooded cape that shadowed her nose and eyes.

Beneath the shadows one could make out just up to her pointed, upturned nose. Her glowing yellow eyes pierced the darkness of her hood the same way they had when she stood in shadow. Twin lavender pigtails bounced about her feet as she giggled and skipped, contrasting with the massive spiked cannonballs swinging about.

" **Dual-Dual Pulverizer, Kree-Ati! A cute name for a cutie, huh? Heeheehee-ha-ha!"**

Swinging around the steel globes, she brought them above her head where a mechanism locked the ends together. Now orbiting the central point at her wrists, she brought the bunch to her hip as she stood in horse stance perpendicular to those at the room's doorway. _'_ _Hmm_ _…her energy spiked. A magic attack_ _?'_ Raven thought a moment. "So she disables magic on touch?" the changeling began once back with the group. "How about Raven's barrier?" Lance seemed to be wondering as well. "Her and I would need to pool our power to keep her magic from wrecking your house, but yeah. Let's do it!"

He waved the sorceress to the front, making sure she wasn't too injured. Robin was the hesitant one, odd as it may seem. "You sure you can do this?" She returned one of her rare patient smiles. "I can." Standing back, they nervously listened to the two. Looking down at her shorter frame, he questioned "Have you ever created a joint barrier before?" Instead of a yes or no, she responded "I know I can." There was a small smirk on his face. "…Admirable response." Glassily gazing forward, he reached his hand out, steel palm up. He turned to her. "There's nothing to do but match my resonance."

Placing her hand above his she softly chanted her mantra.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

A small orb of crackling golden and black energy bubbled to life between their palms.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Growing to bleed out of the constraints of their hands, it softly hummed.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

A translucent globe or combined power formed completely around their hands, a golden magic etched with runes swirling around the black bubble like food coloring drifting about water. Anticipation rose in them at the sight.

"Ok, Raven. Let's try it."

The two brought the bundle forwards. In the distance a huge cracking storm of purple lightning was growing between the metal cannonballs that circled her wrists like buzzards. The density and size of it was worrying. " **Hey, dummies! Take this!"** Throwing the charged ball in their direction sent thunder roaring through the room. Impatient for the barrier, eyes darted between the two mages. "Okay," Lance began, "let's b-bring…it…" Lance went dead. _'_ _Lance. Lance? Lance, now is not the time to….'_ He was staring into space in a trance, pupils subtly shaking. He was…mumbling very softly.

"…D…I…understand…"

Blinking the trance away, he looked toward the dark storming missile with a look of newfound knowledge. "…Raven, it's not that I doubt you, but I need to cast the spell." Similar to the bystanders' reaction, she gazed up at him. However, she wasn't offended in the least. "Do you…know something I don't?"

"Now I do."

After a brief moment she yielded the globe of magic to him. "Step back." As we gave him space he, in one fluid movement, brought his feet into a wide fighting stance whilst bringing his hands wide apart. A magnificent, crested, triple-pointed pike sprung to life in his metal fists. Its outmost prongs curved up and out to wider, dual pointed tips and the center blade was substantially longer and thinner toward the tip. It wasn't made of metal, but crafted of the same gold and black swirling magic he and Raven had pooled. Bringing the javelin back, he aimed it at the mass of dark energy and threw it hard. Humming with power as it flew it burst through the attack like the stormy mass were water, causing it to dissipate. It continued on in Kree-Ati's direction.

Before it even had traveled long, Lance was already preparing some other attack. His right arm was cocked out in the air beside him as he stood in a horse was now they saw his arms didn't match; this arm was similar to the other, but at the shoulder was a thick ring of metal inlaid with six colored marbles. Red, blue, green, white, yellow, and violet. It likely wasn't just an eccentric design choice. The armor was also less fluid, being made of plates and hinged in several areas. He put the hinges to work, throwing his arm out with such force as to bring all the metal to a bunch at his wrist. Tons of varied scars were plastered on his arm.

"Stand back."

His arm exposed, he eased into a forward lunge. His left hand pressed against the opposite shoulder, and his right arm was…steaming? The more his muscles tensed, the redder and hotter the arm got, sending steam out. Gentle fizzling soon filled the air, veritable clouds of mist rising from his reddened skin. _'This kid is…'_

"…Promise not to tell the DPF. They would flip over these guys. _Napalm Demon Wave: Surtr!"_

Raging flames began to swirl around his feet, licking at his ankles. Stepping through with his right foot he launched a fiery haymaker toward the giant. A searing blast of flame as big as a car was shot, following behind the spear. ' _…insane'_ Cyborg finished, gawking at the attack in awe. Kree-Ati crossed her chains again, bracing for the spear. Will it cut? With a shriek of metal, the spearhead cracked apart and dispersed. **"Heeheehee! Nice try, dummy- Ack!"** Mid-sentence the flames crashed into the chains, reducing them to liquid in an explosion of fire. The giant simply stood in shock, the cannonballs dropping to the floor.

" **M…My…weapons…You'll pay for that!"** The chains useless, she picked up the globes from the ground. With just the cannonballs, her offenses were crippled. Now was the chance to attack. "Titans, she's vulnerable! Everyone advance!" On the leader's word they all rushed her down. "She's tall for sure, but with all six of us we can't lose!" the green teen bellowed, his pointed ears twitching. "Star, Rae, flank left! Cy, head right! Stay above, Beastboy!" Lance and Robin were in front, ready to deal damage while the rest incapacitated her. AS they sprinted they passed a glance at one another. The guard's sleeve was back down, a fiery yellow energy blazing in his hand. "Robin, get me in close while your pals keep her busy. I'm going to break that eye thing." "Ah, considering it remained even after her transformation, it's a fair bet it does have something to do with her powers." He turned his gaze and grinned. "Shall we, then?" "Let's."

Cyborg and Starfire led the charge, making sure to deftly duck under her feeble swings with the cannonballs in her grip. Beneath her, they forced her legs to buckle and brought her to her knees. Following up, a lumbering green sasquatch leaped onto her back, causing her to brace her hands against the ground; Raven further incapacitated her by binding her hands to the floor with concrete. Now was their chance. Reaching for his belt, the leader grabbed an assortment of throwing discs and threw. Those aimed for her eyes burst into flashes, and several exploded into binding ice at her knees; time to capitalize on her prone state.

"Lance, follow closely!" Rushing under her, he took out my bo staff and wedged it under her ribs to keep her glowing core exposed. Air whipped past his ears as the holy sentinel dashed by. Kree-Ati struggled to lie flat to guard her core, but Lance was already in close with a small sun in his fist. Starting all the way from his hip he launched a huge glowing uppercut, the blow shattering whatever cover had been over her weak point and sending a geyser of light straight through to the other side. From below he could see her face. Her mouth was agape, eyes wide in pain. Robin motioned for them to ease off, leaving the giant to writhe. **"Y-You…punks worked together…just like the ants…you are…I wasn't expecting that…"**

Collapsing onto her stomach, she became limp. **"Especially not…this Lancelot kid getting help…"** she whispered. "Whoa, dude…is she…?" Beastboy muttered, cautiously poking her with his foot. Lance, similar to him, wedged a foot under her ribs and rolled her over. He kneeled by her head, checking her pulse and opening an eye to check her pupils.

After a moment, he breathed "She's good. Just passed out." Oh, well that's…What's that around his foot? It's…glowing purple. "Lance, are you sure she's…" Too late. As he tried to get up the tendril quickly spiraled up his leg, dragging him toward the pit in Kree-Ati's abdomen. His voice faltered as he was pulled nearer. "Hey, now! Back off!" Hammer off his waist and into his fist, he swung the scythe down. The blade bounced off harmlessly. In an instant following the strike more violet power grasped at him and the hammer, prying it away. "Nngh…Gh-Gha!" Before anyone could move he was harshly dragged inside the hole, his claws raking at the floor doing little to help him. Starfire lunged quickly, reaching for his hand. "N-No! It's not worth it!"

Just as he was swallowed up he swatted her hand away. What just…happened?

Silence governed the room as they gazed into the small hole he was sucked into. After dumbly looking at each other a bit, Cyborg decided to creep up to the giant and peep in. He saw pure darkness. Curious, he began reaching for it. As he did, a hand of dark blue flames slowly reached out, crackling softly. Another followed, heaving out of the crevice the holy guard...but was he holy anymore? Reeling back Cyborg whipped out his cannon and aimed whatever he was down. As it lay collapsed on the giant's body he twitched and gurgled slightly. What was he now?

Backing away, Robin ordered our weapons up. Apparently, this…being had the same idea, as is stood up at our movements. Flames undulated about Lance's burning form as he just barely swayed. Colors more dull than before graced him, his red coat a dull violet and his pants black. Metals sparkled in a strangely sinister bronze hue, his hair no longer blond. Floating about him was a long waterfall of white ending at his stomach, the snowy hairs barely visible through their violet embers. Starfire, ever hopeful, weakly called "Fr...Friend?" A swirling red eye slowly tore open on the right side of his face, staring her down. Amid more silence, a beam of red light shot, narrowly missed the alien, and punched a hole in the ceiling. Fresh air filtered in through it.

They looked at each other, nodded, and threw all the projectiles they had. Cyborg was particularly vocal, hollering "We've _already_ had too many villains today and it ain't even breakfast, so you'd better watch out!" In a flash of power his body subtly split into several gradients of silhouettes; all attacks passed through before he rejoined. Fearing he would lunge, Raven grasped at him with a huge dark hand, crushing him inside. All was quiet for a moment. However, her energy began rippling, completely peeling away and receding as if rotting away from the figure. "Oh…Okay…"

Clearing his throat, their leader tried to croak out an order. "…Titans, withdraw! We'll trap him in here with the-" Lancelot brought a claw across his body, then swung back and threw an arc of blue fire all around him in a spin. Caught off guard, they took the attack with little resistance. Weakened, they fell to their backs with a numb burn spreading through their chests. Lying vulnerable Beastboy saw the figure loom over him, his wiry body leaning over so far as for them to be face to face. Flesh quietly crackling with fire, his animal ears heard no breaths from the agape mouth. Gazing down into the toothless maw of flames he saw a growing red glow. "… _ **Join…me…"**_ hissed out, a black pit of an eye flashing open on his his face's left and staring through the changeling. Its pale pink pupil seemed to freeze his limbs. Forcing out a response, Beastboy found the wit to croak "I w-was told not to t-talk to strangers!" As the corrupt guard's head arched back to center the mouth over his eyes, he heard a shuffle off to the side.

Not a second later and a burst of pitch black fire struck the being across the face, what he'd believed was a fiery spray prepared for him being planted into the floor next to his face instead. And although the difference doesn't matter much, four sharpened, glowing red tongues were actually what were embedded in the ground. Surely either would've killed him. Thank God that Raven didn't suffer the same effects that the flames left on everyone else. Robin's eyes darted to her, words boiling up in his throat. "Raven, keep him-" Surprise staunched the flow of orders. Yes, her arm was extended, blazing with dark power, but he wasn't not fully sure it was her own anymore.

Black fire was bubbling up where she had been struck across the chest by Lance, thin tendrils of dark tar reaching to her outstretched hand and up her neck. Body twitching, her face was warped in pain. She weakly croaked out "H-help…I can't…" as a final resistance before whatever was happening set in. Her eyes slammed shut, trailing tears down her face. She yelled in pain, and he could see both sets of canines grow to form lethal points. What he last saw before her whole body was engulfed in a midnight inferno was two black horns growing from her forehead.

Fully encased, a shock wave exploded as she rose from her knees. Her features were almost totally obscured by the pitch black flames. Cape cast off, burning softly, a dark ball of energy leveled with Lance's face after he'd stood. As he conjured up gloves of blue flames, Starfire found it in her heart to brave her numbed condition and stand between the two. "Friends, you mustn't fight! You must look inside yourselves and fight this-aaAAYIEEE!" Raven telekinetically tossed her to the door. Lance raised a fist, a wall of fire pushing the rest of us to the door and out.

They were having _no_ interruptions.

* * *

 **Hey, sorry if there are more typos than normal or it feels kind of rushed. It's been a long time since posting and I didn't want this story to go under like its predecessor, so I had made a sort-of date to upload by. Being in high school in senior year, college stuff and getting my license stuff and buying a car stuff and midterm stuff sort of ate up my time...or maybe I'm just awful at time management. Either way I hope it doesn't matter too much to you guys. Have a good time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so this is obviously not true to form with the once a month updates I talked about. First, I want to say I'm sorry about that, and that I will try to keep updates consistent. Second, I'm going to start incorporating OC's I've received for the original story, which you can find on my profile, here. I feel it's only right that if I start over I do these people service and include their characters here as well. Now, in reference to why this is late and why this tardiness** _ **won't**_ **become a regular thing, is that there have been more things going on that normal. Being in my senior year of high school, I've had several college visits, driving practice with my test coming up in May, I've gotten my final projects for a few classes, and I've been to the doctor's a lot; that one's nothing serious, just a little more than usual. So, with all that done I hope to put a little more focus on this, as I love doing it and hearing responses and criticism.**

* * *

He wheezed into the cold midnight air, the large piston planted onto his sternum. Rain tickled his skin, and a young woman dragged cuts into his legs. Reflexively curling his body yielded no benefit, as his limbs were tied to the earth. It had only been an hour…he just had to spend eleven more ribs to leave. He just had to keep his resolve strong.

"So, your first time here?" she nonchalantly spat, busy etching slits into his strained thigh. Through his life he'd suffered too much to have these papercuts matter much, but the tingling of blood trickling out was still quite bothersome. Through the vice on his chest, he croaked "Does it…matter? Y-you're…just here…to torture me…no more, no less." Gazing down past the girder on his chest he saw her brow furrow in aggravation.

She wasn't what you'd expect from some…executioner/torturer type. She was a fair, dainty redhead, long curling hair sprawled along the ground as she lounged by his bare hips. Tight black leathers hugged every curve and crevice of her body, glistening with rain…it had been a long time, hadn't it? Starving for a touch firmer than rain, gentler than a knife, something warm and soft…alive, not cold and hard like the restraints he was in, _grew_ in.

But for now…she just continued scribbling cuts on his leg, her eyebrows slanted in, what was it, discomfort? Interesting, but too minute a detail to tear his focus from the irritating pressure on his chest. Just then, he heard a whir of gears…it was that time. A second, smaller piston descended from the gallows-base of the larger, settling over his left oblique's…here it comes. For a moment, all the rain and blood seemed to halt…this pain…. Two cracks had rung out, a shock of pain strangling what little breath he had left.

Ten hours left…another hammer whacked him.

Nine…a bigger storm began to brew.

Eight…one third the way there.

Seven…rain beat on his bare body.

Six…half way…one half of the pain.

Five…would he be able to get up and leave like he had the others?

Four…sunlight peeked over the mountains.

Three…he could hear the shards of bone in his chest shift as he gasped breaths.

Two…he was so cold…he wanted something soft…warm…on his…body…lips….

One…so…cold….

Zero…he heard her….

"Ok…you're…you're done. I…just get out of here. Just go! I don't want to do this anymore! I…your stupid father and this pointless…" she sobbed out incoherently.

Her warmth…her soft curves…his mouth watered at the thought….

The ties bit into his wrists and ankles as he lurched, hissing in pain. He tore the restraints off to leave fresh blood trickling down his skin as his hands settled under the large vice. With a groan of metal, he lifted it away. Her crying stopped, replaced by shivers. Her own ocean eyes were shone in his…they seemed to engulf hers entirely. "Hey…c'mere…you seem upset…" he sang, drearily eyeing her up. His eyes shone like a snake's, lust dripping from his pointed tongue as it slipped along his lips. Shuddering, she found her knees go numb at his gaze…it was a strange cocktail of fear, sympathy, sorrow, and lust, all covered with a dead glaze. Had he…gone insane, finally? A certain fatigue was in his hobble as he neared her, his long blond hair draped over his shoulders. "Can you…" he wheezed, "do something for me…?"

Contrary to his gasping before, something…magnetic permeated his voice. The way his eyes seemed to glow…his stare seemed to suck her up. As he lurched toward her she found her muscles lock, and blood run cold….

 **"Stay…right…there."**

His breath on her face…it was chilly, life-sucking. His metal fingers grasped her shoulders. A freezing feeling splintered through her body…it seemed to steal her heat. Opening her mouth to protest, she found she had no voice left…her vision began to dim, a tiredness constricting her weakened movements. Eventually she could only stare into blackness, seeing nothing…. But this feeling…an intense pain in her neck, the flesh suddenly going numb as thick, warm liquid slipped down her skin. She could hear the primal snapping of muscle.

* * *

His eyes cracked open, burning at the air blowing on them. Odd swaths of blue-grey consumed his vision, but maybe it was just the ceiling. Trying to stretch, a soreness spread through his joints. Pain racked his head, trailing down into his ribs and left arm. He felt a heap of cushiony blankets warming him about his legs, a stunningly powerful pain in his sternum. Furthermore, a fierce cold was seeping through his veins, some dead, dark feeling. He was pretty hungry…. Where there wasn't skin there was bandage, his arm cocked in a cast.

Moving his eyes was pretty irritating, as it made his head ache. His growling stomach was no better, the throbbing in his chest leagues above. Still, he found himself looking around in confusion. Then, fear.

Two IVs were in his upper right arm, at least where there wasn't metal. Frantic, he tore them out. Cold sweat beading his skin, he kicked off the blankets and nearly fell off the cot. Wrapping himself in his arms, he clutched the pinholes from the needles and shook his head. "God no...just no. Holy...holy shit, why'd this have to happen of all things?" he whimpered to himself. He wasn't afraid of needles because of the pain. Something from a long time ago had made him fear what they came to mean. However, he eventually calmed and refocused on where he was.

He was in a small medical room of sorts, once on a fairly simple hospital bed on wheels. A row of similar beds stretched to either side of the room. An entire wall was a window at the left end of the clinic, several panels opened to the vast rain outside. Bothersome. Wet and windy. Don't be mistaken, he liked rain; just not inside. He saw his metal clad feet glistening in the moon light as he strode to the window.

Pausing, he pondered yesterday. A dark giantess had come from basically nowhere, he'd had a fight he didn't remember, and Dejhir…helped him. Her influence was why he'd dumbly tuned everything out for a minute; she'd showed him a vision of the future. Her prognostic had been that Kree-Ati's storm ball would punch a hole through their defenses and heavily injure them. So instead, she presented piercing it. Helpful, but….

' _She doesn't just help. She wants something, yet I have no idea what.'_ She _had_ helped in the past, but it always was supplanted by her greed or need to "protect her vessel." Him, obviously. Furthermore, never had it been a vision. It was always a"fight or flight" style physical buff, as she was tied to his body via his arm. She was an Andesine…a derivative of Labradorite? Known for healing and future sense. Possibly playing into her namesake, though she wasn't healing anyone anytime soon. There was still too much uncertainty.

Stifling a yawn, he began turning the cranks for each window. As he gazed into the gloomy shoreline outside, he heard the shifting of bedsheets. Last latch clicking, he cast a glance at the cot nearest him. It looked like…that giant…maybe? She looked…a lot smaller.

She was curled up in the blankets in a deep sleep, curly pinkish hair cascading over the side of the bed. All he could see was that her hair was let down as opposed to in pigtails, and her curvy form under the covers. As opposed to being a towering twenty feet, she was only maybe four foot six now. Her face looked…calmer than he'd expect from an enemy. Maybe she was just some confused kid, as confused as he was…the same parasite that jacked his mind had come from her.

Rainwater babbled as he stepped away from the windows, another patient catching his eye. Short violet locks fanned out on the pillow, a few stray strands waving in the residual breeze of the once open window. Yet, it was hard to make out her face through the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. Furthermore, it was so dim as to completely shroud all of what lay out of the light. The cold made her shiver as she lay slumbering in bed. There were blankets only covering her up to her lap as she sat with IVs in her arm, bandages and casts leaving little room for her fair, pale skin to show. She had on a powder green hospital smock, just barely defining her elegant build. Granted she was small in the vast bedspread, one leg bulged under the covers; likely clad in a cast.

He stopped beside her. Trickling rain threw translucent snaking shadows onto her face as she slept…her breath was calm, as well. Resigned, he whispered "Good…they're fine…," and slipped the blankets over her to her neck.

Turning, he ruffled his fingers through his hair. A frown forced its way onto his face. Where was everyone else? He was hesitant, but he figured no one would be too upset to see him up and awake. Here's to hoping they're in the living room already…

* * *

Lead seemed to weigh on her eyelids, her sleep incredibly hard to escape from. Croaks escaped her lips at the burning, throbbing pain in her right arm and knee, an odd hardness around them. Muscle memory took hold as she tried to move, but a shock of pain quickly stopped her. In spite of the fluffy blankets she felt around her she was shaking. She felt so drained….

After working up what little strength of will she could find, she forced her eyes open. A chilled air hit them, feeling as gloomy as the room looked in its blues and greys. She saw hospital beds, their sheets dusted with shadows of raindrops. In the medical ward, she could tell that much. Though still woozy, she could make out someone resting on a cot many beds away, and she could hear a distant chatter.

"What happened? How long was I under?" That sweeping bass, aloof yet wise…Lance. Another voice answered him, but was either too quiet or too distant to make out correctly. Whatever they said, it seemed to rile Lance up. "Three days…? And you said I what? I apologize. I…how is everyone?"

More distant grumbles. She was hoping for good news…. "That's good…Hmm? _My_ injuries? I'm…sure, I'll take it easy. Thanks for your hospitality…" he stuttered out, the sound of footfalls growing closer. Though it was difficult to keep her eyes open, she saw him reenter the room gazing at his metallic feet. A grimace was apparent on his face, or at least was until he slid his free hand over his eyes. Leaning against the wall just before the room opened, she saw his lips dance in a whisper. "Am I just losing myself further?"

Swallowing what little saliva she had, she found her curiosity build within her throat as words. Ignoring her coarseness, she called "Further…into what?" Seemingly unaware she'd woken, she saw his metal fingers slide off of his face of the same nature. Amidst the shining steel she saw his left eye, that small ruby glass pane, stare through her. His lean yet striated and scarred physique lay crooked against the wall, one leg over the other.

For a moment they locked eyes before he averted his, a redness of embarrassment coming over his face. "It's not worth dwelling on. How do you feel?" Terrible. "Fine" she chirped quietly. At least she wasn't sitting here marinating in pain alone. Her eyes tracked him as he stumbled over and eased onto the bed. As he sat and breathed, his back to her, she could see the muscles under his permanently-scratched skin subtly shift. She wondered what he would've looked like without years of war on his body. That steel on his skin….

"How did you get those?" slipped from her lips. Cocking his head back, he gave her a sideways glance. "…The metal? …They're called…Locks." Rolling to the closer side of the bed, he rested his elbows on his knees. Steels scratched each other as he wrung his hands. "If I dealt with these demons, day to day…alone…I'd lose even the slightest control I still have. These keep Dejhir, and others, relatively locked away. Still…she's a stubborn one…."

Holding his head in his hands seemed to help calm him. Demons inside him…. "As someone with demons, too…I know how it is. I'm sorry. You may hear that a lot, but…really." Was he…laughing? It was nearly silent…. "Still, I can see it in your eyes. Yours aren't an issue anymore."

At this, she could only stare into the ceiling. She'd sort of been caught. Almost like he knew, he breathed "I'm not some demon-driven killer. Just know that. All I am is…." Swallowing, he lay back onto the bed. Sinking deeper into her own cot, her tiredness began to gnaw at her. So hard to keep her eyes open…. "Just lost. I know." Fighting off a yawn, her eyes swept over his lounging form. Eyes closed, he had his hands curled together on his waist. Granted he wasn't exactly a big guy, beneath his scars lay powerfully sculpted muscles. Furthermore, it's not every day you had a half-naked divine stranger sitting next to you…who was this guy?

"Who-" "Good question" he cut in, clearing his throat. "I'll give you some context. I'm from a large seaside city on a planet called Kur. I didn't know my parents, most likely gave me up because of poverty. They actually managed to work something out with the monarchy, and I became a surrogate prince. Perhaps I'd have grown into a wise, generous ruler if things didn't suck."

Pausing, he arched a leg and crossed the other over. His free hand behind his head, he resumed. "At about five...my life became an ungodly test. I don't know why – maybe pops didn't like my peasant bloodline…or didn't care. Instead of learning to become the next ruler, I was locked away; I don't think the public ever knew I existed. Tensions were high in the kingdom, and they were short on soldiers. Along with several others "unfit" for affection, my new parents shoved me and my innumerable new step-siblings in a massive facility in the castle basement."

Cold wasn't why she shuddered…he had barely started and yet a chilling veil of dread crept its way over her. It was hard to look at anything but the ceiling. "From the beginning it was Hell-on-Earth, alchemists, necromancers and...scientists treating us like their playground. They started hitting us with strength, speed, endurance tests…all of them made painful by awful machinery and malnourishment. After about a month we began receiving…special attention. I was…maybe eight at this point. Imagine a filthy, starving, abused kid waking up without his arms."

Metal clicked as he curled his fingers a few times. "I panicked. No arms or legs, from the knee down at least. Trying everything to get up, all I wound up doing was spend the day squirming and crying. Next day I had my limbs back, Locks and all. They even covered half my face and shoulder. Still reeling, I had no clue what was about to happen…. They had brought out their most powerful augmentations, sealing six high demons in my right arm and a fiery goddess, Dejhir, into a crystal, then into my left. It was…a terrible idea…."

Although her eyelids were shut in sleepiness, her ears and mind wouldn't let her rest. She had to listen…. "They fought over my body for several weeks. I wrecked the place. Broke out of a lead-clad metal box three times, killed seventeen other people in a month alone. If it's any consolation, the six demons sealed in my right arm died against Dejhir; I inherited what abilities, but also corruption, they left behind…but I digress."

Wow, he still had more. Although, this _was_ his life story…. "Our military debut, once under control, as a unit was not received well. Yes, we obliterated the enemy, but at a social cost. The citizens were unaware of this little project the king was doing. They were appalled at him for creating abominations, and leaving them untrained in all but the art of primal murder. In one fell move, I lost the roof over my head and any potential compassion from the people. After they staged an "angry villager" style attack on us failed experiments, I fled to the countryside."

He took another breath. "Then, as icing on the cake, my untreated war injuries and hunger-weakened immune system caught up to me, and I began dying. Alone in the woods, stuck on the ground, I lasted three days before I saw a light…Heaven itself took pity on me, and saw potential. I wasn't a bad fighter, either. So they took me in…. I was afraid when the monarch, Gliver, asked me to join his army. Obviously, I had royal bias…but putting it aside led me to twelve great years…."

She almost didn't hear the sheets shift as he sat up. Voice slightly wavering through his tears, he spat "And I can't afford to lose it now…."

So…that's who he is. Of all the heroes she'd met, none had been so bold as to just spill such a sensitive topic. Gathering her thoughts, she could only whisper "I'm…sorry. You probably hear that a lot, but really…I'm sorry." His airy breaths were far and few between, sounding off nearly in time with the gentle thundering outside. "…Thank you." She only could see his back as he lay, the scars shifting with each exchange of brisk air. She could sense the innumerable demons within him. Even with all she knew, she'd never been in the same room with so many….

Mustering up the bravado to ask in spite of his reclusive state, she meekly called "Who were they?" She didn't really expect anything back. Yet, he continued to surprise. "My parents? The scientists? Or the demons? I suppose it doesn't matter which; I'm in a chatting mood, so it's only a matter of time."

"My parents…they were a pair. My birth father, from what I saw in photo, was full of power and grit, and tall as a tower. Whatever pictures I saw were of him smithing molten metals. One was of the wedding, though. In contrast, my mother was a petite sprite of sorts, with a huge head of thick gold hair and coiled black ram's horns alongside her sleepy face. Maybe an Earth Sprite? They went well enough together, anyway. Wish I could say the same about my adoptive parents…what a wreck. "Aegis," as they called him, was little more than a tall, gaunt, old fool. Monarch as he was, he was spoiled to his core, never vocal about it but showing it through action. It was his plan alone to begin the military project. My new mother, however, was far from his reserved wrath. She was kind of dollish as well, with long red hair as vibrant as magma. Still, she didn't possess any violence…." He trailed off, letting falling rain fill in the auditory gap. "Not inherently, at least."

"When it came to the military program, he'd set it up almost tyrannically. Complete lack of contractors and awareness aside, he'd used the equivalent of a secret executive order to set it up. To maintain the facility, since he was never around, he passed the jurisdiction onto Selene, his wife. Those scientists didn't want to work for him. He kept them prisoner, wiped them from public records, and ensured they were blackmailed or more often beaten daily to assure that they worked. Since he was never there, he had Selene do that. And so, in order to make her, he brainwashed her into violence by beating _her._ Almost by fate, the final chain link manifested itself as the scientists' apathy for us soldiers. Tortured every day, they'd forgotten social decency in favor of fear, and so neglected us. That's…."

Mouth agape, he drowsily yawned. There was further pause. "Wow, I never thought talking so much would be so tiring…anyway, the demons. The rare times the king did check in were when the overseers obtained new shipments of relics and tools with which to experiment. Some of the new inventory, in addition to several enhancing demons now within me, included Dejhir, the Six Lords, and the Locks. The Six Lords was the collective title of the six demons, which belong to a lost gauntlet called Ragnarok, sealed in my right arm. Each is respective of a given element and property, Surtr, fire and strength, Yggdrasil, earth and enchantment, Fenrir, wind and agility, Baldr, light and healing, Angrboda, ice and constitution, and Loki, dark and manipulative. While they did fight amongst themselves, they always seemed to come together when the time came to bother me. Or Dejhir…but I could fill hours with stories about her…."

Likely not fun stories, but that aside…wow. At this rate, what could she say? Or do? Star would be quick to smother him in a hug, but her casts most surely prevented that…not that she'd do that, anyway. A yawn forced its way through her lips, fatigue settling in her bones. What even happened the other day? It had left her with such injuries…. "Did Robin tell you what happened?" Seeming to droop, he responded "Ah…Sadly, yes. Do you know, as well?" She gently shook her head no. This cued a sigh.

"Whatever dragged me into Kree-Ati was potent enough to take control of me. Once inside it drove me berserk, and I attacked all of you. In particular, it spread its influence to you. He said we nearly would've killed each other if you hadn't snapped out of it. Apparently, using your good hand you…stabbed me straight through the chest. That was the end of it, and we collapsed."

What did she do? He's saying she… "You mean I…tore into you with my bare hands? H-How? I can't…" her words faded as she stared at her bound right arm. Suddenly, he began to chuckle. "That look…" he paused, gazing into the reflective metal on his arms, "reminds me of someone. You know, you're asking a lot of questions. Not the "reclusive dark maiden" I'd assumed…. Who are _you_?"

His mention of "dark maiden," though it sounded like one of Beastboy's dumb games, brought an embarrassing heat to her face. Violet eye cracking open again, she passed him a wry glare. "What? Looking for competition? Well, sorry to disappoint…." On the contrary, she still found it right to tell her story in return.

"I was born in a realm called Azarath. Calm and quiet, ideal for "reclusive maidens." The sun shone in a beautiful sunset when I was able to see it. All of my days were spent meditating and learning magic under monks with a dry sense of sociality. It's kind of funny…how they empowered me in spite of our neutral nature. They were just afraid of my father…." Staring into her bedspread, she huffed and continued.

"He – Trigon – eventually did rise and plunge my home into darkness. My mother, Arella, had me run far away…I ended up here in Jump City. I didn't really know anyone until I met these jokers, and then…we became a family…." Releasing a weak sigh she completely went limp on the bed. Eyes swept over the clock as she lay. _'Midnight….'_ "Ah, _you're_ Trigon's daughter? Well, I hope you don't think ill of me, but it's an honor to officially meet his daughter." Let him think that way if he wanted. She was just happy to be rid of the old man.

A crack of thunder interrupted her train of thought, sending powerful vibrations through the air. Still, her eyelids became increasingly heavy. Hanging in a purgatory of awake and asleep, she heard him stir and metal touch the tiles. "…I'm touched by your hospitality. That said…I shouldn't have accepted it to begin with."

Steel clicked rhythmically as he strode to the door. She wished to see what he was doing, but exhaustion had sealed her eyes for good it seemed. "I'll be gone when you wake. Thanks again."

Having heard that last resigned tone, his steps faded. Waiting for inquiry from those in the other room, she eventually grew too tired to lie awake anticipating something. A floaty high came over her as she began to drift off to sleep. Warmth overtook her body, finally pushing her over the edge and into dreamland.

* * *

Floating amongst swathes of gray clouds, she discovered halfway through that they made images that overlapped and melded. Visuals drifted by of her friends, her fears, fun, everything. She wasn't expectant of a red one. As opposed to crisp details, this one blurred almost to the point of being indecipherable. It seemed to be a moving image, as well. Reaching for her, the fuzzy dream cloud expanded to engulf all others. It was hot…she poured sweat, breathing ragged from heat. Painful paralysis gripped her left hand. Feeling her dream begin to warp and weaken, she heard a voice.

 ** _"Stay…away…he belongs to…me…."_**

A harsh flash of light, and suddenly an explosion of fire consumed her.

* * *

Peering around the room fresh out of sleep nearly blinded her. Normally she'd be too sleepy to move, but the sunlight seemed to burn her out of the bed. She found herself frantic to block it. Grabbing for blankets, pillows, anything, she cloaked herself and pulled it over her head. Or rather, pitched a tent on her scalp.

Still reeling from the odd pain, she cautiously reached up to her head. Suddenly, a shot of pain flew through her finger as she jammed it on…something. Curious, and a bit ticked off at the painful turn of events, she inspected her hands. Nothing seemed wrong, save for the sharp black claws where her nails had been.

"…Eh…what are…?" she stuttered, checking them over multiple times. They weren't particularly long but were extremely pointy, and gently hooked. There was even some crosshair-like black symbol on her left hand, trails etched to her elbow. Maybe some stupid prank from Beastboy…though they felt real in her fingers. Her casts also lay cracked and discarded on the bed. Being sure not to bump her…claws again, she went back to her head. Not being able to see, she jumped a bit when her fingertips grazed something hard and smooth. Collecting herself she went in again. It was…wood? Metal, maybe? It started at her hairline, thick at its base and slightly coiling up and back to a sharp tip hanging a few inches above her ears. "What's going on…?"

More nervous by the second, she went to leave her makeshift tent. At first, the burning pain hit her skin, but she learned that it faded with exposure. With this newfound knowledge, she steeped herself in light to get it out of the way. It was so extreme near her core…maybe it hadn't been a good idea, but it was over anyway.

Following a pattern of caution, she touched her bare feet to the floor; they had sharp black nails on their slender toes, as well. Shaking off this new info she floated her way to a mirror. Drifting through the halls, she found her hospital smock a bit more snug and short than normal. Possibly swelling from the injuries. Still, what had happened, exactly?

Eventually she found the bathroom. A slew of scents hit her, so strong as to make her cover her nose. Soaps, cologne, mildew; all so powerful, yet the bathroom was sparkling clean, no spills anywhere. _'Beastboy was probably just spraying 'Axe' everywhere_ …' she thought. Aside from the oddly pungent smells, she heard the whispers of water flowing through pipes in the walls, and a steady drip…all the way down the drain? Entering, she popped the cover on the sink drain - this pipe was pretty deep…. _'Okay_ … _why can I_ … _smell and hear so well?'_ Dismissing it as things just out of the ordinary, she turned to the mirror. Hovering inside, she found the pill cabinet it was on ajar; great, she'd close the mirror for a horror movie style reveal…. Well, time to get it over with.

Reaching out, she shut the cabinet. It was…simultaneously underwhelming and novel. Chief among her reliefs, her face wasn't monstrous. There was some black lipstick she didn't remember putting on…that she also couldn't remove. Were these…her lips? Strange, but it was a better look than being frightening. The gem on her forehead was fine, as well. Her eyes, too, had changed, now a stunning crimson. Not horrible, almost pretty. Yet there was more. Pulling the baggy robes tight around her form, she wondered if she'd grown taller, or her hips slightly widened. Now, her head…horns. Great. Two black horns started, like she'd felt, thick at her hairline, and twisted back to two points floating above her ears. They added a strangely comfortable weight to her head.

Really, it could be worse, but she wasn't keen on a makeover in the first place. What happened…Lance was gone, right? Whispering to herself, she vowed "I'm going to find him and make him explain this."

Making sure the halls were clear, she flew to her room. Throwing off the smock, she went for her dresser but ultimately took a detour to inspect herself again. It was difficult to tell, granted the horns, but she seemed at least an inch or two taller. Her black panties definitely seemed stressed as they clung to her hips, even if they were only subtly wider. It made her wonder if whatever happened had increased her physique. Flexing her arms or legs still left her without much muscle definition, but she felt a little stronger. "Oh, forget it, I'll have time to gawk when I get back."

Grabbing a black leotard, she slipped in and adjusted herself to the new hug of it. Attaching her belt, which clicked notably louder than usual, and cloak, she opened the window and floated out. Hovering above the tower in the early morning rain, she pondered where to go. She didn't even know where he went, if he was still on Earth. He was too far to sense. Suddenly though, her nose picked up something. It smelled like…burnt sugar, with a hint of metal. The metal was clearly just metal, but something inherent to her told her the burnt sugar was symbolic of a creature. "…dark…a demon? Magic?" came to her, something in her knowing that to be close. The smell was drifting up from the south….

* * *

Treading the damp earth, he gazed into the three a.m. sky and admired the dusky blue that the storm had dyed the world violet. It remained a drizzle, ever since he'd moved far south enough of…what was it she said, Jump City? He hadn't seen too much of it; the original ride to their home was short and the walk out was quick due to him traveling along rooftops.

An unexpected belch escaped him as he wiped the red from his lips, the irony stench satisfying. That hunger…it nearly drove him to carnage. Having found a farm on his way south was the main saving grace. He was hoping that the farmer wouldn't mind that he'd taken some…things. Thievery wasn't ideal, but livestock was less incriminating than people in this instance. Luckily, he'd found some fresh mint in the forest to cut the smell.

He ruffled his blonde locks, checking their length. A bit past his ears…not long enough to tie yet, if he had to. That aside, on his way here, it'd been mainly forests or the occasional plain, a soggy breeze tailing him the whole way. Thankfully he hadn't met anyone on his way down. Maybe…a couple hundred miles south, and no people yet? Being able to leap a football field at max speed surely helped him cover ground. Now, where was he?

A salty tang hung on the wind, the sound of crashing waves distant, barely audible. Emerging from a fairly open forest, he came to see a small town in the distance. Very small. From his place half a mile away, he could only see a few main streets, a few food shops lining the street that was, almost, a surrogate boardwalk. It continued a short amount forward to a small mountain on the fringe of the shore, too dark to see but definitely not mountain shaped. A street left led to maybe one or two more stores then a stretch of open road most probably leading to homes, though there were none here.

Building up his speed, he leapt the distance with ease; the same couldn't be said about his staggered landing. The original wound on his hip still was sore, a black blotch the last time he looked at it. He turned his attention to the town, instead.

Glowing in the misty air, a single street light cast its light over the sole lit store in town, a doughnut shop. _'Open all night, I guess? Must like their doughnuts…'_ he pondered, leaping into the distance and landing at the foot of town. Passing by the side street, he took a hand out of his pocket and opened the door.

Lights were on, but nobody home. "…Hello? Your door's open…anybody here?" No answer. However, as he strolled in someone stirred from sleep at a table he hadn't noticed before. Hopefully an employee….

His fluffy Mohawk of brown hair bobbed as he groggily shot up out of his seat, his stretched earlobes following suit. A sand brown shirt with some design or other showed drops of drool on it, as did his khaki pants. Still half asleep, he began drowsily spouting some knee jerk reaction. "Guh…okay, okay, Sadie…I'm closing up…don't…" he trailed off once he was done rubbing his eyes, having accidentally stopped face to face with the tall and otherworldly Lancelot. Words defied him for a minute as he stared dumbly into his two differing eyes, but that didn't hold for long before the kid stumbled back in a panic.

"Ack! Uh, I, who-!" Tripping over the chair he'd been sitting in ruined his hurried ramblings, leaving him squirming around on the floor, clearly anxious. _'Great….'_ Hoping to defuse the situation, Lance started "Good evening. I'm from…out of town. I saw your shop was the only one with lights on…maybe you can tell me where I am?" Hopefully, this guy would listen and not immediately freak out.

This seemed to hold true. Remaining frozen on the floor, gazing at him fearfully, the older teen found it in him to answer in his high and scratchy voice. "Y…You're in Beach…City. The most peaceful t-town this side of the coast!" he almost shouted, an unsettled smile plastered on his face. Fake smile, forced tourist-trap slogan.

Perhaps…this wasn't the right person to ask at such a time in the night. As he was leaving the tower, Kree-Ati of all people woke up. Substantially not hostile, she wasn't all bubbly and hyper…and weird, like before. She'd told him of his purpose, if he so chose to try and take back the Holy Lands. To fight the Six Generals of the Void and break through to the Shadow Lands. To end the war that had thrown him from heaven. She knew this because she was the squire to the Dark General, however untrained she actually was. Yet, she assured that the others would be leagues more powerful. Why had she told him this? Demons didn't inherently desire the war. Someone else had gone around starting it, controlling the people - not to mention her and the other squires. She wanted it stopped as much as he did.

Still…why not ask? Might have some priceless reaction…. "Anything…strange go on here? I'm looking for something." "W-well, how strange? There are those aliens on the beach, and almost every day some monster or other attacks us, but other than that, totally normal." Hmm, now _this_ was getting somewhere. Smirking, he responded "Stranger, I'd say. Divine types of strange. Supernatural, to you."

At this, the stranger got this odd puss on his face. "Oh, so you're some "conspiracy theorist" or something? Not another…" "Far from it. Hell, _you're_ probably more supernatural than what the one you're referring to finds." "Ha, met him?" "No, just guessing…still, if you don't know, who can I ask?" the guard inquired, feeling that this conversation should end before this guy goes on a tangent. "They call themselves the "Crystal Gems." They're those aliens I mentioned. Live on the beach."

Getting at least a part of what he came for, he turned on his heel. "Thanks for the info."

The kid ushered some rushed and awkward goodbye as Lance exited and turned left to the beach. Was the mountain their home? Probably why it had an odd silhouette. Descending to the beach, he shambled along the sand and around the small peak. The employee's fearful smile broke as soon as Lance left. He hurriedly dug his phone out, dialing someone as quickly as possible. It was ringing…and ringing…. "C'mon…pick up. Ah! Steven, listen! There's some creepy guy with this massive hammer on his way to your house! …What? No, don't go back to sleep! …Well, okay, fine! At least get someone else to do it!" Shaking in his shoes, the teen hung up.

Turning the corner, the guard came to a hemispheric open area of the shore, leading up into a small raised cottage cradled by the rock. A normal cottage…yet, an alien cottage…. Not ideal, but so long as they held true with their reputation, he supposed their stylistic tastes were of no matter. Hugging the rock, he trod through the rain moistened sand to the steps leading to their deck. Drops still drumming the wood, he began climbing.

Winds billowed his jacket. Gazing at his reflection in a glass pane behind a screen door, he could see his damage. A scar crossed his cheek bone, just barely closed, and a tiny crack divided the red glass over his opposite eye. His cast remained on his arm…actually…. With a crumbling snap he flexed the cast off in one motion. Wiping away the debris, he stretched his freed limb; healed in a day or two, couldn't have been anything more than a sprain.

Chucking some of the other lesser bandages, he collected himself and gently pounded on the door. Silence, save for the chatter of rain. He tried again with a bit more clout. Through the weather he heard a voice inside. "…yeah, yeah, slow your roll, bro…." The door before him lazily swung open.

For a second, he only saw the dimly lit inside of the house. However, there was actually a fairly short girl leaning against the doorframe. Chief amongst her…condensed features was her knee length mane of white hair, even though she seemed a teenager. An adolescent edginess shone in her violet eyes, her wide nose crinkled at him and a full, almost pouty, set of lips between her round cheeks. She wore a pitch black tank top, a large and round amethyst embedded in her chest. Plain gray sweats hugged her ample hips, dark stars on her knees. On her feet were a pair of white sneakers. She was busy drilling a chubby finger into her ear.

He could sense an aura of light emanating from her.

Feeling her eyes nonchalantly sweep over him, he scratched at his jaw hairs. Suddenly, she grinned at him. "Yo, dude, think you may be early. Halloween's next month" she declared in a high, sassy tone.

'… _she's the one with that hair…'_ went through his mind as he cleared his throat. "Well, I sort of expected an alien to have a spaceship rather than a seaside cottage." "Not ours, we just crash here." "Ah, I see. So, I'll cut to the chase. I'm looking for something. Someone in town directed me here." She seemed apathetic at best, droning "Sorry, man, we ain't Google" before ducking back inside. Faster than could be seen, one of his grieves was jammed in the door. Calm smirk gone from her face, he reaffirmed "At least hear me out. Most you have to do is say yes or no. But, please, just listen for a hot minute."

That may've done the trick. Pausing to let rain pepper the land, she breathed "Okay…what is it?" Great, now would she buy this? "I've traveled here from a town far north. I'm not from Earth, but, in that breath, who better to ask than aliens. If you've encountered anything as of late that's far removed from reality, specifically powerful warlords, I would greatly appreciate their whereabouts." Her response was practically written on her face: she was busy giggling thinking he was insane.

Silently huffing once, he repeated "Remember, just a yes or no." "No. Toodles." Promptly he was once again face to face with the door. Back to just him and the rain….

* * *

Struggling to stifle her amusement, the snow haired teen sauntered to the fridge in their small kitchen. She pried open the door, muttering "Ha, "warlords…" as she perused the stock of food. A carton of milk caught her eye. "Come to momma…." Shutting the fridge, she began chugging. However, she almost immediately choked when she found her friend waiting behind the door. "Ack! Guh-G-Garnet! Why're you creeping on me?!" "We're in danger."

The short one gazed up at her towering comrade. A blocky black afro topped her, what was basically a wall of sunglasses covering her eyes and whole forehead. Maroons and violets formed a galactic mosaic in the jumpsuit that clung to her exaggeratedly curvy ebony figure. Embedded in her palms were two large red gemstones.

Clearly annoyed, the smaller belted "What, you mean that goof outside? Don't sweat it, he's just-" "Dangerous. It's not your fault, it's not his. However, he'll attract danger in due time." She marched over to a platform deeper into the small home, and held her palms up to a star-shaped door. It opened to a world devoid of all except spires of water, balancing glass-like masses. A dancer in a leotard was gracefully going through motions atop one. Seeing Garnet, she dropped her dance in fright. "Heavens, Garnet! How did you-" "Not the time. There's trouble."

Door morphing shut, she turned left to a little bathroom under the stairs to a semi-top level. She reflexively went to knock, but just walked in. "Peridot. We're about to be attacked, if you feel up to helping." The petite girl dressed in green had her face over a flask. Cleaning chemicals, soaps, and other liquids bubbled inside, casting neon light on the white tile. Peering up from her work, she groaned "Sure" before adding a drop of bleach. Pouring the mixture into several small grenades, she left the washroom to join the others in the kitchen.

"Now, everyone," Garnet began, ignoring the short white-maned girl chowing on chips, "we'll be under attack soon. A veritable army."

* * *

Soaring through the cool night rain, she checked her communicator: three a.m. In spite of having flown for about a day, she was still full of energy. Furthermore, her eyes pierced the night darkness with ease. This new body was having its perks…where ever it came from. Tracking that scent, she sniffed; so close now. A small seaside town faded into view through the curtains of rain. There appeared to be lights firing off from behind a small mountain on the shore.

Hurrying through the sky, she touched down on the beach to an intense scene. A sea of demon warriors, skin grey and with long black horns, were collectively slashing at a group of fighters including Lance, who curled and flipped around them. Hammer in hand, he would whip the chain out and bludgeon a few or trip them. Furthermore, he'd catch a blade or magic blast with his hands every so often and throw it aside.

Fighting with him were four women, it looked like. A short, snow haired one with a long whip, an fair, elegant dancer with a spear, and a sturdy woman with metal gloves. Some short, green clad one was off to the side throwing gas bombs. She had to admit, it was hard to see them fight amongst the chaos of the warrior hordes, but the five seemed to be holding out. However, this didn't last long. Lance, from his spot surrounded by a good twenty, picked her out through the crowd. His eye...a feral tinge shot through it.

Suddenly, he seemed to reach the end of his rope. "Enough!" he roared, his scythe glowing with light as he spun. Slicing through every soldier and their armors, they melted into dark haze. It was at this sight that the revelation of the dozens of other violet ash piles hit her. As he stood in the center of his destruction, she began walking toward him to greet him again. The four he fought with seemed to be aiming to talk to him as well, but paused when they saw him gripping his hammer.

His eye flashed with anger when the two locked looks. "You!" he thundered, stomping toward her. "Hey, bro, why so angry-" the short, white haired girl was immediately silenced. "Why? She was there, leading their forces, when these demons took the heavens! Not only were they my home, but without the gods properly balancing reality, the world may soon fall apart!" His instant aggression and talk of higher power kept them quiet. Breathing heavy, Lance growled "Leave. This won't end well." Reluctance eventually left them as they crept back inside the cottage.

"I'm going to end what began in the Holy Lands, starting with you!" his deep voice rumbling as he rushed her. Surprise gripped her, freezing her legs in place.

' _He…he's going to kill me!'_


End file.
